Waste Recycled

Plastic pollution and waste management practices vary significantly across regions, impacting the overall effectiveness of recycling efforts. Using data from Ourworldindata.org, compiled by Hannah Ritchie, Veronika Samborska, and Max Roser, I analyzed regional waste management practices as of 2024. The dataset, obtained from Kaggle, includes variables such as the share of waste recycled, incinerated, mismanaged, and landfilled, all measured as percentages of total regional waste. We modeled the percentage of waste recycled as a linear function of the percentages of waste incinerated, mismanaged, and landfilled. Regions with higher levels of incineration, mismanagement, and landfilling were associated with lower recycling rates. Regions with higher rates of waste incineration, mismanagement, and landfilling see a corresponding 1% decrease in recycling efficiency for each percentage point increase in these practices, emphasizing the need for improved waste management strategies.