Addressing Hazardous Waste Management as a Means to Achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 3

Waste generation rates continue to grow and it is becoming a top priority for sustainable developmentSustainable development. In this regard, uncontrolled disposal generates complex situations that involve the entire population. The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Agenda) brings different issues to the forefront of international action by setting a specific goal: SDG3: Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeingWell-being for all at all ages and a related target 3.9, “By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicalsHazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination, aiming to respond to the pressing challenges posed by waste pollution”. In this regard, it is important to understand that waste management plays a crucial role for the realization other SDGs (in particular, 6, 11, 12) and related targets. Being aware of these interrelations, in our work we focus attention on the following question: how does hazardous and toxic waste pollution relate to SDG3 and in particular to target 3.9? Several studies highlighted the association between exposure hazardous wasteHazardous waste and negative impact on human healthHuman Health for an excess of different types of cancerCancers (liver, bladder, breast and testis cancersCancers, non-Hodgkin lymphoma) or increase of other diseases (asthma, congenital and urogenital anomalies, connective and musculoskeletal systems anomalies, low birth weightLow birth weight (LBW)). The data indicate that hazardous wasteHazardous waste management urgently needs more effective public policies. It could be important to control and eliminate illegal practices of waste disposal and improve regulation and its enforcement. This chapter aims to highlight the interdependencies among waste pollution, healthHealth impact within the frameworkFramework of the Agenda 2030. In this context, it will be important to identify how waste pollution can hinder the realization of SDG3 in order to devise effective policies for a safe hazardous wasteHazardous waste management. In this scenario, the links between waste pollution and SDG3 can provide some insight to practitioners, researchers and policymakers for addressing the waste pollution challenge.