Solid Waste Management
About this Course
Solid waste management (SWM) is a crucial function of local governments around the world, and directly affects public health, the environment, and livelihoods. However, rapid urbanization and population growth place multiple pressures on solid waste management systems, particularly in cities in low- and middle-income countries. In particular, the urban poor are most affected by lack of access to basic SWM services, such as waste collection and disposal. Yet, the sector also provides numerous opportunities: Improving solid waste management provides a cleaner and healthier environment; improves livability for all city residents; and attracts new investment and tourism, which improve a city’s economic competitiveness, creating jobs, and new business opportunities. SWM also contributes to new sources of energy thus tackling climate change challenges. In these ways, SWM is directly relevant to the World Bank’s goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Historically, the highest expenditures of local governments is in the SWM sector but – particularly in low- and middle-income country cities – the bulk of expenses goes towards collection and transport instead of treatment and disposal. Another challenge is ensuring the financial sustainability of SWM projects and cost recovery once SWM infrastructure has been created. The world is generating increasing amounts of waste, with large amounts (primarily plastics) ending up in the oceans. However, there is also a paradigm shift from thinking about waste as something to be disposed – “out of sight out of mind” – to a resource that can be used for energy generation, reduce the use and costs associated with virgin resources, and improve our climate change efforts. Given this background, this e-learning course is designed to look at the SWM sector, with a focus on MSW, from several angles in order to simplify concepts and promote understanding of this sector.Created by: World Bank Group
Level: Introductory
Related Online Courses
This course introduces the basics of climate science and communication strategies to help empower educators, volunteers and individuals to talk about climate change as a means to inspire action.... more
Electric cars are more than a novel means of mobility. They have been recognized as an essential building block of the energy transition. Fulfilling their promise will imply a significant change in... more
The use of fossil resources is a controversial topic and there is much scientific research to argue against their use for energy, chemicals, and in the production of almost every product. Because... more
Cellular polymers are integral part of daily life. These unique materials make our life safer, more sustainable, or simply more comfortable. Their diversity is reflected by various applications... more
In this course, we will introduce you to the fundamentals of sensor fusion for automotive systems. Key concepts involve Bayesian statistics and how to recursively estimate parameters of interest... more