Introduction

Waste management is a public health service. When waste is collected, recovered, and disposed of in a controlled way, it protects communities, workers, and the environment by preventing disease vectors, limiting exposure to hazardous materials, reducing emissions, and keeping public spaces safe.

The most severe health, environmental, and social impacts arise when waste goes unmanaged. Inadequate collection, uncontrolled recovery operations, and open dumping or burning contribute to widespread exposure and are often concentrated in underserved areas and informal settlements.

In these contexts, communities are frequently left to self-manage their waste through open dumping or burning, while informal waste workers handle materials directly without protective measures. Both groups face elevated risks - particularly those living near uncontrolled recovery sites, disposal facilities, or unmanaged waste hotspots, where exposure to physical, chemical, biological, and psychological hazards is highest (WHO, 2025).

Some of the most impactful way for governments to reduce these risks is to make and attract targeted “no-regret” investments that reduce uncollected and unmanaged waste in the environment. These include:

1. Expanding Reliable Waste Collection in Underserved Areas

Expanding reliable collection services is one of the most impactful and immediate actions cities can take to reduce unmanaged waste. When waste is not collected regularly, households are left to self-manage their waste, often through open dumping or burning. These practices expose communities to smoke, contaminated soils and water, disease vectors, and accumulated waste in the environment. Improving collection coverage prevents waste build-up in neighbourhoods, reduces direct exposure, and avoids the need for harmful self-disposal practices.

2. Strengthening Recovery Waste Value Chains

Strengthening recovery systems, including sorting, recycling and organic waste processing, keeps materials out of disposal sites and reduces the volume of waste requiring final treatment. When recovery operations are uncontrolled or informal, workers often handle waste directly without protective measures and downstream markets operate with limited environmental controls. This increases occupational risks and limits the system’s overall performance. Improving safety, market linkages, and operational control levels - according to the Wastewise Cities Tool (WaCT) - within these value chains enhances resource recovery, reduces environmental leakage, and lowers exposure risks for workers and nearby communities.

3. Upgrading Disposal Sites to Basic Control Levels

Upgrading disposal sites from uncontrolled dumps to at least a basic level of engineered control significantly reduces environmental and health risks. Uncontrolled dumpsites are often associated with open burning, leachate contamination, vector breeding, and direct human exposure. Introducing even basic measures such as site delineation, daily cover, access control and minimal leachate management reduces uncontrolled emissions, prevents open dumping and burning, and limits public access to hazardous areas. These upgrades are essential for reducing long-term exposure risks for both local communities and waste workers.

How the WFD Can Support These Investments

The Waste Flow Diagram (WFD) provides governments and practitioners with a structured way to:

• Identify where unmanaged waste occurs;
• Assess levels of control across collection, recovery, and disposal;
• Quantify leakage pathways relevant to public health and SDG 11.6.1 reporting.

The WFD is also harmonised with the WaCT methodology, which allows cities to collect baseline data collection on a cities waste management system, providing the data needed in order assess waste flows and identify weaknesses in collection, recovery and disposal to design scenarios that can strengthen these elements.

Join the Discussion

If your city, organisation, or project has expanded collection into underserved neighbourhoods, upgraded recovery or disposal facilities, integrated informal workers into safer recovery value chains, or reduced open burning or open dumping, then share your experience below. Practical examples, even at small scale, can help other cities shift toward healthier and safer waste systems.

References

World Health Organization. (2025). Throwing Away Our Health: the impact of solid waste on human health - evidence, knowledge gaps, and health sector responses. Available at: https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/wash-documents/throwing-away-our-health-19-dec-25.pdf?sfvrsn=1c0ffac2_3&download=true