Rapid development, rising personal consumption and inefficient use of resources are producing unprecedented levels of waste in Asia, where cities will generate an estimated 1.8 million tons of garbage per day by 2025, the Asian Development Bank said Thursday.
MANILA, Philippines -- Rapid development, rising personal consumption and inefficient use of resources are producing unprecedented levels of waste in Asia, where cities will generate an estimated 1.8 million tons of garbage per day by 2025, the Asian Development Bank said Thursday.
The bank warned that the increased waste in the region -- from the current 760,000 tons per day -- would be beyond the capacity of governments to handle, and would require private involvement in waste management.
"New production and consumption patterns have radically altered both the quantity and the nature of wastes ... that need to be managed, especially in urban areas," an ADB report said. "Rapidly expanding cities are being overwhelmed by the growing volume and toxicity of wastes disposed on land and into the air and waterways."
It said that proper recovery, treatment or disposal of waste "is increasingly beyond the financial resources or political will of many national and municipal governments."
Inefficient use of resources and the often hidden costs of waste management are already affecting the international competitiveness of Asian companies, the ADB said.
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The Manila-based development bank, the U.N. Environment Program and other institutions are hosting a two-day workshop starting Thursday on waste management and efficient use of resources in East and Southeast Asia.
A similar gathering for South Asia was held in Katmandu in August.
The events are part of an ADB initiative called the "3Rs" -- reduce, reuse, and recycle waste management. The initiative was launched in 2005 in Tokyo, based on an agreement of by the Group of 8 industrialized nations to promote more efficient production and consumption and environmental conservation.
Participants from governments, the private sector, scholars, and public and private groups will try to identify opportunities for investments in waste and resource management, as well as policies and programs that could be included in national strategies, the ADB said.
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