Waste Management in LEDCs

The question of waste management in Less Economically Developed Countries is one of the most discussed in current politics.  

Most LEDCs face one of their biggest fears in how to handle all their waste, also because the amount is growing with each day. 

It is a chain of problems which all play together and create one huge problematic situation. 

 

Cities now are urbanizing rapidly and much faster as they did before. This results in more waste. Since the countries were not prepared for a change like that, their usual ways to dispose waste are not designed to handle larger amounts and are facing the edge of their possibilities. Additionally, the poorest parts of cities do not have any organization in itself, especially not for their waste. The responsibilities are tossed from one politician to another and no one wants to take any blame, which does not solve the situation at all but only increases the problem.  

 

Since the problem is current and changes only to its worse, LEDCs have neither time for developing a new disposing system, nor working on their old ones, even though the old ones really do need improvement. Especially concerning is the really low standard of environmental protection and the cohering pollution of air, water and ground. This does not only result in environmental damage, but does also hurt the populations’ health and safety.  

 

To work on the waste management should be one of the highest United Nations’ aims. MEDCs do actually have higher levels of consumption and produce therefore even more waste than LEDCs, but since they developed completely different ways over the past decades to cope with it, it does not result in a problem like the one LEDCs face. Therefore, it should not be impossible, to have an influence and come up with some help and a solution.  

 

It should be focused on strategies to minimize or even completely avoid the growing negative impact on the environment and the population. It is important for every country to conserve resources and to have a cleaner protection worldwide. To improve ways of recycling and reusing/repairing can also lead to a financial increase and create new jobs. Waste should not only be reduced to a problematic perspective but should as well be seen as a chance of being a new resource and bringing new opportunities as work.  

 

The increasing consumption cannot be stopped since it is due to urbanization, therefore it is important to come up with new ways to work with the given case. LEDCs should not be left on their one, especially since it is not only a problem of money, infrastructure and scale, but also one of missing experience.