By design, trash collection and waste processing are among the least visible municipal processes, but a new World Bank report warned of a looming crisis in a vast, multinational area.
The Middle East and North Africa region spans approximately 20 countries and "generates more waste per person than the global average," according to the World Bank.
Each year, MENA nations collectively produce in excess of 155 million tons of waste, a figure the World Bank projected could double by 2050.
Moreover, the institute found that this is costly, requiring expenses not limited to municipal trash management and other official functions.
The World Bank estimated that these higher-than-average per capita waste rates inflicted $7.2 billion in environmental damage on the region each year.
Waste management's role outside the more visible parts of everyday life means such crises can pile up without much public awareness, and the ongoing issue in the MENA region can be seen as a global bellwether.
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In 2024, the U.N. Environment Programme issued a report, jointly produced with the International Solid Waste Association, examining the global scale of waste generated alongside "the cost of waste and its management since 2018."
The UNEP predicted that waste generation would rise from 2.1 billion tons in 2023 to 3.8 billion tons by 2050.
The UNEP and ISWA pegged the annual cost of taking out the trash at $252 billion. As of 2020, accounting for "the hidden costs of pollution, poor health," and the impacts of planetary warming, that figure was closer to $361 billion.
In the absence of "urgent action," the cost would explode to $640.3 billion in 2050.
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$200 or more 💰 Even at an individual level, clutter is costly. As How to Money noted, aside from the stress and hassle, the things we own and discard cost money to store, maintain, and replace.
However, as the UNEP observed, that's not purely financial; it also has environmental costs. Everything we purge and toss more often than not ends up in landfills, where clothes, food, and improperly discarded e-waste generate air pollution.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions" in the United States, generating the same amount of emissions as 24 million cars or 31 million households would in a single year.
Mesky Brhane, a World Bank regional director, said that even "a modest shift can make a big difference" in tackling the problem.
"A 1% reduction in waste generation could save the region up to $150 million annually. Modernizing waste systems and embracing circular economy solutions can protect public health, strengthen tourism, and build greener cities," Brhane stated.
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