LoginA new study has found that more recycling in the U.S. would translate into more jobs. The report comes as South Africa's government plans to implement a new waste management strategy that could create thousands of new employment opportunities.
The report, called "Less Pollution, More Jobs", conducted by the nonprofit research group Tellus Institute, found recycling is more labor intensive than other forms of disposal, and could generate as many as 2.3 million new jobs by 2030 if the U.S. increased the rate of composting, collecting and processing by 75 percent.
In South Africa, the government's national waste management strategy (NWMS) was recently approved to help create 69,000 new jobs and develop thousands of new waste service and recycling enterprises by 2015, according to Creamer Media's Engineering News.
Under the plan, the NWMS would implement a waste classification and management system, licensing and expand producer responsibility.
Meanwhile, the International Labor Organization, which represents 21 countries, has released a new report that has found a large skills gap in the "green jobs" sector.
The study found "economies moving towards greener production can seize the potential for job creation if they deal with the coming structural change and transformation of existing jobs.”