Waste collection is a basic public service performed for everyone in OECD countries. Everyone? Well, a closer look reveals that this is not the case for a significant number of people. If these developed countries can’t collect all their waste, imagine the situation in many developing countries, where resources are much scarcer and access is sometimes problematic. This graphic presents the situation in selected OECD countries, highlighting a numb...

In the 1980s severe hygienic problems plagued parts of Curitiba where housing development was uncontrolled. The winding streets were too narrow for council trucks and waste rotting in the open caused disease. In 1989 the council decided to act. It sent environmental education teams into affected areas where they joined forces with neighbourhood associations to organise waste collection by local people.