Quantifying the impact of volunteerism in the framework of waste management strategies in Cyprus

Waste Management strategies as a result of the production and consumption line (not cycle) are on the top of the global challenges, within the framework of the seventeen United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Based on the World Bank projections, the global waste generation levels have been increasing in a steady rate from 1.3 billion tonnes per year in 2012, to 2.2 billion tonnes per year by 2025. This represents a significant increase in per capita waste generation rates, from 1.2 to 1.42 kg per person of which <5% is managed sustainably. It is estimated that there is currently approximately 98,995,672 tons of illegally dumped waste world-wide. During the last decade several Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have developed successful volunteering methodologies in managing the illegal dumping and incentivizing the communities towards sustainable waste management strategies. This has been the result of the numerous effects i.e. infectious diseases, land and water pollution, flooding and loss of biodiversity, which have risen as a result of the improper waste disposal. The international movements towards Zero Waste and/or the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle (3Rs) schemes in combination to the upcoming social science of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), enhances the effort of corporations and the public sector in updating their agenda. This paper aims to provide a holistic approach for the role of volunteers in providing means and strategies against the illegal solid waste disposal and highlighting a series of steps for their application towards impactful campaigns. The latest approaches of volunteerism towards waste management in regards to quantifying the economic, social and environmental value of a strategy are presented and discussed