The organisation has called for urgent, coordinated action to protect people and the environments they live in, warning that global volumes of municipal solid waste (MSW) are increasing at an unprecedented rate, while many countries still lack the systems, infrastructure and resources needed to manage waste safely.
Without action, WHO said mismanaged waste will continue to undermine public health, damage ecosystems and worsen climate change.
Ruediger Krech, Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change, One Health and Migration at WHO, commented: “If we continue to treat waste as an afterthought, we will lock in avoidable disease, climate pollution and deep social inequities.
“This report is a clear call to put health and equity at the centre of how we design, manage and ultimately reduce waste.”
How waste harms health
MSW generated by households, businesses and institutions is the most visible and widespread form of waste globally.
The Throwing Away Our Health report noted that waste generation is rising rapidly due to population growth, urbanisation and changing consumption patterns, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
A large share of MSW worldwide is still either not collected at all or disposed of in uncontrolled conditions such as open dumpsites and open burning, leaving millions of people exposed to avoidable health risks.
When waste is uncollected, dumped or openly burned, it can pollute air, water and soil, contaminate food chains and release hazardous chemicals.
Open burning produces fine particulate matter, dioxins and heavy metals, while poorly managed landfills and dumpsites can leach pollutants into groundwater and attract disease-carrying insects and rodents.
WHO highlighted that the health impacts fall most heavily on communities underserved by waste services, people living near dumpsites, landfills and poorly managed incinerators, children and pregnant women, and waste workers.
‘Multisectoral’ response needed
While the report painted a stark picture of the risks, WHO explained that waste does not have to be a burden.
When properly managed, it can become a valuable resource, supporting recycling, generating energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating green jobs.
The problem, the report argued, is not waste itself but how societies choose to manage it.
To address the challenge, WHO called for a coordinated, multisectoral response grounded in the waste hierarchy.
Key actions recommended for governments and partners include:
- Reducing waste generation at source
- Expanding affordable and reliable waste collection services, particularly in underserved communities
- Improving control and standards at recovery and disposal facilities
- Eliminating open dumping and open burning, including for hazardous waste streams
Healthcare and medical waste
The report particularly focused on the role of the health sector in tackling waste as a public health threat.
According to research from Eunomia and Systemiq, Europe’s healthcare sector generates one million tonnes of single-use plastic a year, costing health providers €23 billion.
Bruce Gordon, Head of Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health Unit at WHO, explained: “Health ministries can start now by ensuring safe management of health-care waste, developing strong occupational health programmes for waste workers, and working with municipalities to reduce health risks from solid waste by closing open dumps and burn sites and gradually improving towards safe services.”
The report also called for stronger surveillance, research and biomonitoring to fill evidence gaps.
Gordon added: “These concrete steps save lives today and will make cities cleaner and healthier in the future.”
