RECYCLING aside, waste firms often describe themselves as recession-proof. The logic is simple: their workload is always increasing. As countries get richer and more urban and their populations expand, they throw away ever more stuff. The OECD forecasts that although municipal waste in rich countries will grow only by a fairly sedate average of 1.3% a year up to 2030, or about 38% in all, India's city-dwellers will be generating 130% more rubbish and China's over 200% more over the same period. That increase will come partly from a growing amount of waste generated per person but mainly from a rising urban population. Overall, Nickolas Themelis of Columbia University expects worldwide waste to double by 2030.
Growing wealth generally goes hand in hand with more concern for the local environment. In time, governments in developing countries will make sure that more waste is collected and tighten the rules about disposal. For example, India's Supreme Court has ruled that all cities of 100,000 people or more should provide a waste-collection service. The Indian government, for its part, has set guidelines and targets for treatment and is working on a law on e-waste. At present these rules are observed mainly in the breach, but with time and public pressure compliance should grow.
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