Disaster Waste
Primary reference(s)
UNEP/OCHA, 2011. Disaster Waste Management Guidelines. Annex X: Terminology. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) / United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Accessed 19 November 2019.
Additional scientific description
Disaster waste includes: concrete, wood, steel, spillage of tailings, industrial toxic and hazardous waste from dumps/stacks/ landfills, clay and tar elements from damaged buildings and infrastructures; household furnishings; parts from the power and telephone grids such as electrical poles, wire, electronic equipment, transformers; parts from water and sewage distribution systems; natural debris such as clay, mud, trees, branches, bushes, palm tree leaves; chemicals, dyes and other raw materials from industries and workshops; waste from relief operations; damaged boats, cars, buses, bicycles; unexploded ordnance (e.g., landmines); waste from disaster settlements and camps including food waste, packaging materials, excreta and other wastes from relief supplies; pesticides and fertilisers; household cleaners; paint, varnish and solvents; and healthcare waste (Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit, 2011; UNDP, 2016).
Metrics and numeric limits
Not available.
Key relevant UN convention / multilateral treaty
Not relevant.
Examples of drivers, outcomes and risk management
Waste is an important factor to consider in preparedness, response, recovery, remediation and environmental decontamination preceding or following a disaster.
Response and recovery may generate various amounts of waste (e.g., irretrievably damaged or contaminated objects and structures) or waste by-products such as water run-off from disinfection procedures. For large-scale incidents, normal waste disposal routes may be inadequate. Laboratory analysis may be required prior to disposal to identify such properties as ignitability, corrosiveness, reactivity and toxicity, which would inform the treatment and waste disposal options (HPA, 2012).
In addressing these issues, various criteria need to be examined such as type and amount of waste (e.g., hazardous, non-hazardous), legislation concerning disposal routes for waste, capacity of disposal facilities, agricultural impact following disposal, environmental impact following disposal, potential impact of biological agents, chemical agents and radioactive materials during and after disposal, and societal/ethical issues (PHE, 2016).
In post-conflict/disaster settings, hazardous wastes that are frequently encountered during debris and municipal solid waste management activities include Unexploded Ordnance (UXOs), asbestos (as part of building rubble), infectious health care waste and other hazardous wastes such as expired and obsolete hazardous pesticides, equipment containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and oils (e.g., electrical transformers) and other types of hazardous wastes (UNDP, 2016).
A temporary disposal site, a place where disaster waste is safely placed, stored and processed for a predefined period after a disaster, should be selected following a rapid environmental assessment, and emissions should be minimised in relation to appropriate and available technology (UNDP, 2016).
References
HPA, 2012. UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents. Health Protection Agency (HPA). Accessed 19 November 2019.
Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit, 2011. Disaster waste management guidelines. Accessed 19 November 2019.
PHE, 2016. Recovery, remediation and environmental decontamination. Resources for the management of chemical, radiation and biological incidents, including UK recovery handbooks. Public Health England (PHE). Accessed 29 September 2020.
UNDP, 2016. Guidance Note: Municipal solid waste management in crisis and post-crisis settings. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Accessed 19 November 2019.