Waste management is a massive problem for many of the world’s fastest growing economies, as sacrifices are made on the altar of ever-expanding consumption. Ghana, a country in West Africa, is no different. In 2012, a World Bank report said that as many as 19,000 Ghanaians were dying prematurely and $290 million were being lost every year, mainly due to poor sanitation and hygiene. Our SITE4Society team led a site visit and interdisciplinary workshop to understand the issue from various angles, b...
“Europe isn’t rich in natural resources, but we are very rich in human resources, and the circular economy can draw on those and export the technologies they spawn to the rest of the world,” said Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, announcing the roll out of the EU’s Circular Economy Package. His words serve as a guiding theme for much of our work at SITE4Society, including our latest event in January 2019. … The ‘tr...
China, once the final resting place for half the world’s trash, has just banned the import of certain plastic, paper and textile waste. Western countries are scrambling to shift ‘the problem’ elsewhere – but there could be another way. They could invest more in the circular economy, which would also help them achieve the 2030 Agenda. But what exactly is the circular economy? Sustainable development refers to a process of economic growth and development, whereby the needs of the present are met w...