Trash·Here

The Problem

We built a world
designed to be
thrown away.

Overconsumption is not a personal failure — it is a system of design, marketing, pricing and convenience. Understanding it is the first act of resistance.

The Consumption Cycle

Buy Use Throw Repeat

The system is not broken — it is working exactly as designed. Products are made to be replaced, and replacement is measured as growth.

Step 01

Companies release new versions constantly. Marketing turns wants into needs, and buying becomes a reflex rather than a decision.

What if we changed the cycle?

  1. CHOOSE
  2. BUY BETTER
  3. USE LONGER
  4. REPAIR
  5. REUSE

The Numbers

Every figure has a source

We publish the number, the year, the definition and the link to the original research. Click any source and read it yourself.

2.1 Billion Tonnes

Municipal solid waste generated globally in 2023.

Global municipal solid waste generation was approximately 2.1 billion tonnes in 2023 and is projected to reach 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050.

Source: UNEP 2024United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)Global Waste Management Outlook 2024(opens in a new tab)

$640.3 Billion

Projected annual cost of waste by 2050 without urgent action.

Without urgent action, the global annual cost associated with waste management and its wider environmental, health and climate impacts could reach approximately $640.3 billion by 2050.

Source: UNEP 2024United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)Global Waste Management Outlook 2024(opens in a new tab)

92 Million Tonnes

Textile waste generated globally every year.

Approximately 92 million tonnes of textile waste are generated globally every year.

Source: UNEP 2024United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)Unsustainable fashion and textiles in focus for International Day of Zero Waste(opens in a new tab)

353 Million Tonnes

Plastic waste generated globally in 2019.

The OECD also reported that only about 9% of plastic waste was ultimately recycled in 2019.

Source: OECDOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)Global Plastics Outlook(opens in a new tab)

62 Million Tonnes

E-waste generated globally in 2022.

Electronic waste is rising faster than it is collected or recycled, and is projected to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030.

Source: Global E-waste Monitor 2024ITU / UNITARGlobal E-waste Monitor 2024(opens in a new tab)

82 Million Tonnes

Projected global e-waste generation by 2030.

Approximately 62 million tonnes of e-waste were generated globally in 2022, projected to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030.

Source: Global E-waste Monitor 2024ITU / UNITARGlobal E-waste Monitor 2024(opens in a new tab)

What We Throw Away

Five piles we keep building

None of these categories are the enemy. The problem is how fast we buy them, how briefly we keep them, and how little thought goes into what happens next.

Discarded technology

Technology

Phones, laptops, chargers, batteries, headphones and electronic accessories.

Technology should evolve. Waste shouldn't have to.

Read more →
Discarded clothing

Clothing

Fast fashion, shoes, synthetic fabrics and short-lived trends.

Wear it longer.

Read more →
Discarded plastic

Plastic

Bottles, bags, containers and disposable products.

Minutes of convenience. Years of waste.

Read more →
Discarded food packaging

Food Packaging

Delivery containers, wrappers, cups, sachets and unnecessary packaging.

The meal disappears. The packaging remains.

Read more →
Discarded e-commerce

E-commerce

Boxes, plastic wrapping, fillers and packaging generated by frequent online purchases.

One click can create much more than one product.

Where Does Your Trash Go?

Throwing something away doesn't make it disappear.

Follow one object after it leaves your hand. Every stop is a real place, with real people and real consequences.

  1. Home

    The bin. The last moment the object is yours.

  2. Garbage Truck

    Mixed with everything else, value destroyed on the way.

  3. Sorting Facility

    Only what can be separated cheaply is separated.

  4. Landfill

    Buried. Decades to centuries of slow breakdown and leachate.

  5. Incineration

    Volume disappears. Emissions and ash do not.

  6. Recycling

    Possible, partial, and usually quality-losing.

  7. Informal Systems

    Sorted by hand by workers with little protection.

  8. Environment

    Rivers, soil, oceans, air, food — and back to us.

Aerial view of a landfill with a waste truck on an access road

“Away” is a place. It has coordinates, neighbours and groundwater.