The “Zero Draft” of the UN plastic treaty outlines options for Parties to manage plastic waste in a safe and environmentally sound manner. Certain standards must be met for waste management to be defined as ‘controlled’.
88.5%
of uncontrolled municipal solid waste is generated in middle income countries.
| Country income bracket | Uncontrolled waste generated | Percentage |
| Low income | 72 Million tons | 6.5% |
| Middle income | 975 Million tons | 88.5% |
| High income | 54 Million tons | 5% |
53% of all municipal solid waste is uncontrolled globally – equivalent to an estimated 1.1 billion tons.
The need for global controlled waste management
Controlled waste management is when waste is both collected and sent to an end-of-life process which includes recycling, composting, incineration, waste to energy, or disposed in a sanitary landfill.
Uncollected, burned, and littered waste in addition to collected waste that is sent to an open dumpsite, or a non-sanitary landfill is considered not controlled waste management.
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