Waste classification refers to the identification of different types of waste for the purpose of appropriate waste management, recovery and disposal. Classifying and separating waste by type helps protect the environment and human health, and to maximize responsible use of resources. While waste can be classified in multiple ways, depending on purpose, local requirements, and available infrastructure, key examples would include separating hazardous and non-hazardous waste across all waste streams such as municipal (household), industrial, agricultural or construction and demolition waste. More granular examples of classification for the purpose of separate municipal collections can include categories such as food waste, paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metal, batteries, electrical and electronic equipment or textiles and clothing. The new EU Waste Directive adopted in 2018 sets out new targets for separate collection, recycling and landfilling, with the ambition for the EU to become the world leader in waste management and recycling. This includes separate collection of textiles and clothing to become mandatory across the EU in 2025.(1-4) Waste classification and management pose considerable challenges for rapidly developing countries with growing urban populations such as China(5). While the country started piloting waste classification in cities in 2000 and has introduced compulsory waste classification in major cities since 2019, the results are still highly unsatisfactory due to long-established habits and a lack of clarity in separating criteria and collection facilities.(6-9) With China’s status as the leading global producer of textiles and clothing, textile waste is another major contributor to the country’s waste streams and despite gradual improvements, millions of tons of both pre-consumer and post-consumer textiles still end up in local landfills every year.(10,11) It is also important to recognize that in a globalized world, waste classification and management present are a complex global issue. While waste collections are coordinated on local, regional and national levels, further stages of waste management, including recycling and re-use, often rely on global infrastructures. This comes with the need for compatibility of requirements and regulations, to remove unnecessary administrative barriers. For example, harmonizing rules on when textiles and clothing are considered waste and when they are a material (so called end of waste criteria), could be a key enabler for improving the global rates of textile re-use and recycling, which are still extremely low.(11-14)
WASTE CLASSIFICATION
