The report comes as municipal governments across the world are making critical investment decisions to increase climate resilience and rebuild local economies damaged by the Covid-19 crisis. The study projects that if London were to recycle or compost 80% of the recyclable and organic material in its waste stream, the city could create around 5,000 new jobs. The new paper is a meta-analysis of 36 studies spanning 16 countries that examined the job creation potential of various waste management strategies such as repair/reuse, recycling, composting, incineration and landfill. The research makes clear that what’s good for the environment is also good for the economy.
The report claims ‘zero waste’ strategies score highest on environmental benefits and create the most jobs of any waste management approach:
- Reuse creates over 200 times as many jobs as landfills and incinerators.
- Recycling creates around 70 times as many jobs as landfills and incinerators.
- Remanufacturing creates almost 30 times as many jobs as landfills and incinerators.
The study states that zero waste systems not only create more jobs, they create ‘better’ jobs. It cites studies that point to jobs in zero waste which beyond basic manual labour, provide higher wages, offer more permanent positions and ‘improve quality of life’.
Source: Circular Online
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