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Municipal waste is defined as waste collected and treated by or for municipalities. It covers waste from households, including bulky waste, similar waste from commerce and trade, office buildings, institutions and small businesses, as well as yard and garden waste, street sweepings, the contents of litter containers, and market cleansing waste if managed as household waste. The definition excludes waste from municipal sewage networks and treatment, as well as waste from construction and demolition activities. This indicator is measured in thousand tonnes and in kilograms per capita.
Waste
Waste is generated at all stages of human activities : during the extraction of raw materials, the processing of raw materials into intermediate and final products, the consumption of final products, etc. Municipal waste is only about 10% of total waste, but its management and treatment often represents more than one-third of public sector financial efforts to abate and contral pollution. Inappropriate waste management impacts human health and the environment through soil and water contamination, air quality, climate, land use and landscape.
Also available in: French
Keywords: waste, recycling, environment, garbage, management, sustainable
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