As the global population keeps rising, so does the strain we put on our planet. At the same time, the amount of waste we generate is greater than ever before, and this is due to the global pandemic too. We’re spending more time than ever ordering household items, electronics, food, and many more. Just imagine all the cardboard, plastic, and bubble wraps that end up in our landfills.
Even with waste restrictions in place, the amount of garbage we generate on a daily basis is shocking – maybe not in our landfills, but definitely in our oceans. Plastic pollution has never been so greater, continuing to damage nature, animals, and our health. Even worse, many people are still unaware of the consequences of pollution on our health. They fail to see or comprehend the damage our plastic waste causes in our oceans or landfills.
As recycling and waste management become a priority for many countries around the globe, scientists, environmentalists, and governments are looking for ways to reduce them. So far, this industry registered some great changes last year, and experts expect 2021 to mark a cathartic moment because it will emphasize trends around safety, diversity, recycling policies, collection technology, and many more.
Circular Economies More Important than EverÂ
Circular economy approaches advanced a lot in 2021, particularly for packaging and plastics. The reaction of the media concerning the ocean plastics crisis has encouraged both consumers and policymakers to seek action.
Circular economies promote a closed system where products are used, recycled, or reused, and nothing gets lost on the way. While lawmakers seek to hold producers accountable for waste, increasingly, more businesses collaborate to reuse materials and packaging.
Others explore refill models with businesses aggressively committed to using recycled content in their packaging or test new refill models that solve for waste and customer convenience while ensuring the integrity of the product inside.
AI-Based Platforms and Improved Decision MakingÂ
Recent updates and improvements in AI-assisted data collection and machine learning save researchers a lot of time on determining strategic conclusions.
The best part about these AI-driven platforms is that they can identify complex patterns that we cannot see and pick those without any biases. Reliable data and artificial intelligence promote good decision-making and ensure that businesses invest in the right things, for instance, becoming more sustainable and developing environmentally-friendly products that are better able to meet consumer demands.
What’s more, predictive modeling allows different industries to make better & sustainable material buying selections, resulting in lower costs. By collecting this data, companies will be better able to gain the ability to adapt strategies when a market changes or when competitors or products evolve.
Advanced Recycling ProgramsÂ
Recently, discarded food or green waste has been a topic governments and environmentalists have treated alike. We’ve ignored this type of waste for a while, but because it triggers extensive damaging effects, waste experts have turned their focus on finding solutions to hinder its formation. The easiest and maybe the safest way to recycle and reuse discarded food is to turn it into biofuels.
The compost trend is expected to dominate in 2021 as more countries begin to adopt food waste recycling laws. Some states already have policies in place that require food-wasting establishments like restaurants, hotels, and hospitals to promote and implement recycling plans. At the same time, private and public sectors collaborate to finance special compost facilities so that green waste no longer ends up in landfills.
Industries worldwide implement a plan that regards the recycling of frigolit (polystyrene) and other different materials, but by no means the current plans are steady enough to offsets the waste the planet produces.
Accelerated Renewable EnergyÂ
In 2021 states, cities, utilities and organizations continue to announce or pursue decarbonization plans, despite an economic recession and the onset of a global pandemic.
Clean energy solutions like green hydrogen are expected to dominate the industry. Green hydrogen is a fuel produced through the electrolysis of water using renewable energy resources such as wind or solar power.
It’s a versatile solution that can be used in gas or liquid form, not to mention it can be used as clean energy or as fuel by many industries. Chemical production, ammonia and fertilizer production, metallurgy, food processing, oil refining, transportation, and many other sectors can benefit from using green hydrogen.
The best part? Green hydrogen is nearly inexhaustible. Over 90% of all atoms are hydrogen atoms, which means there’s more hydrogen than anything else in the world. The only byproduct of this green energy solution is oxygen which makes it 100% pollutant-free.
More Energy from Waste
Scientists are ready to explore new ways to procure energy from waste. Circular economy policies suggest exploiting waste resources for generating energy. As we speak, researchers are about to find new ways to treat food on-site to reduce the costs associated with taking it to waste landfills.
Some companies have already integrated waste into energy processes that transform waste into energy resources. The dramatic increase of the waste issue has prompted governments to finance energy generation from waste projects. At present, local governments promote tax benefits and financial incentives to encourage businesses to recycle and reuse waste.
Final ThoughtsÂ
By 2025, we’re expecting the planet’s oceans to have more plastic waste than fish without proper waste management measures in place. But water pollution is not the only danger that lies ahead if we don’t take action now. Air pollution is reaching disturbing rates, with 91% of the world exposed to one or more types of pollution affecting millions of people every year and feeding 9% of the annual global deaths.
In 2021, 20% of the trash landfills is wasted food, but if the waste sectors implement some of the above trends, the energy market worldwide will grow considerably and allow us to get rid of the non-renewable energy solutions in exchange for better, renewable one while cleaning the environment of waste.
