# Waste and recycling: Chokepoints and risks

Collecting, sorting and treating waste, returning metals, paper and plastics to use

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/waste_recycling/risks/

#### Chokepoints and risks

- Volume growth outpaces capacity: municipal waste is set to rise from 2.1 to 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050^[1](https://www.unep.org/resources/global-waste-management-outlook-2024).
- Open dumping: at least 33% of municipal waste was not managed in an environmentally safe way in 2016^[4](https://datatopics.worldbank.org/what-a-waste).
- Weak municipal finances delay payments to contractors, the main credit risk for private operators.
- Scrap and recyclate prices swing with steel, oil and Chinese demand, as do import rules.
- EPR policy changes can make or break recycler revenue overnight.

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/waste_recycling/index.md)
- [Where ₹100 goes](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/waste_recycling/cost-mix/index.md)
- [Price links with suppliers](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/waste_recycling/price-links/index.md)
- [Example story](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/waste_recycling/story/index.md)
- [Value chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/waste_recycling/value-chain/index.md)
- [Materials drawn on](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/waste_recycling/materials/index.md)
- [Sources](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/waste_recycling/sources/index.md)