Waste disposal is one of the greatest environmental challenges. By 2050 waste generation is expected to reach 3.40 billion tons worldwide [1]. In Europe 5.2 tonnes of waste were generated per inhabitant in 2018 of which 38.5 % were landfilled [2]. In Italy, the situation in Lombardy has worsened dramatically: between 2017 and 2019, 56 illegal waste deposits were set on fire to hide illegal materials and many abandoned industrial sites were reconverted to illegal waste dumps. Similar illegal waste disposal phenomena occur in many EU countries, such as Greece and Sweden.
[1] Kaza et al. (2018). What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050. The World Bank, 2018.
[2] Stephen Schindler. (2020). Asbestos – Not a problem of the past. In ETUI, The European Trade Union Institute. https://www.etui.org/topics/health-safety-working-conditions/hesamag/construction-workers-at-the-mercy-of-social-dumping/asbestos-not-a-problem-of-the-past
