How Zero Waste offers clearest, most effective path to Zero Emissions
By Charles Ogallo
Zero waste practices significantly impact climate change by reducing the production of potent greenhouse gases, such as methane, thereby achieving zero emissions, according to a new study by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA).
The global study, launched on 4 September 2025 by GAIA on the sidelines of the Second Africa Climate Week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, demonstrates that zero waste offers the clearest, most effective path forward—outperforming incineration and other “business-as-usual” practices in reducing long-term climate impacts.
Its findings also prove that zero waste offers the fastest, fairest, and most cost-effective way to cut methane emissions, and it must be at the center of global climate strategies.
The report comes when communities, as far as from Asia to Latin America to Africa, continue to be at the front-lines of both climate impacts and the fight against false solutions in waste management.
Drawn from case studies in Lagos, Nigeria; Barueri, Brazil; and Quezon City, Philippines, the report applies the Solid Waste Emissions Estimation Tool (SWEET) and the FaIR climate model to project temperature outcomes through 2060.
The irrefutable report further shows zero waste as the most effective and resilient strategy reducing climate impacts from the waste sector. Unlike incineration, which trades short-term methane reductions for increased carbon dioxide emissions, zero waste delivers rapid methane cuts without creating new warming problems.
Zero waste strategies have been recognized as an accessible climate solution that also supports the efforts of vulnerable populations.
Beyond the data, the report spotlights how front line communities in all three regions are resisting incinerator projects and advancing decentralized zero waste systems.
The movements show how climate solutions can deliver environmental justice, social co-benefits, and a just transition for waste-pickers.
The report comes at a pivotal moment when in Africa, governments are weighing climate finance options that will determine whether communities are locked into polluting infrastructure or supported in building resilient zero waste systems.
The publication, Zero Waste as an Effective Climate Strategy: Avoiding Warming Tradeoffs from Incineration, is one of the four GAIA Technical Guidance Series for Policymakers and Financiers on Fast Action on Waste and Methane.
It examines the long-term global warming impacts of three waste management approaches: open dumping and landfilling, waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration, and zero waste systems that include source separation, composting, and recycling.
UNEP projections
Projections by UNEP show municipal solid waste generation would grow from 2.3 billion tonnes in 2023 to 3.8 billion tonnes in 2050.
A recent UNEP report also recommends a shift to zero waste to prevent runaway negative impacts , waste contributes to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
In Kenya, poor waste management practices release significant amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and contribute to flooding, disease, and air pollution.
Data from National Environment Management Authority NEMA shows that the country’s waste generation is significantly rising. In Nairobi, city where over 2,000 tons of solid waste are generated daily, much of it is not managed properly, with open dumpsites, inadequate waste collection systems, and the informal disposal of waste contribute to environmental degradation, posing both public health risks and exacerbating climate change.
Kenya is however, working to address the menace through circular economy initiatives, such as banning single-use plastics and promoting waste-to-energy solutions, to mitigate climate change, create green jobs, and build climate resilience.
Meanwhile, air pollution from waste incineration and the breakdown of waste in poorly managed landfills, according to the GAIA findings, can cause respiratory illnesses
