Special Session - Closing the Loop: Advancing…

Can cities turn waste into opportunity for healthier, more sustainable futures?

Effective municipal solid waste management is a critical urban challenge driven by rapid urbanization and rising consumption. Neglecting these systems leads to environmental degradation, public health crises, and reduced climate resilience, particularly in informal settlements. It also undermines access to adequate housing which requires access to basic services.

Redesigning cities with efficient systems for waste collection, recycling, and safe disposal, anchored in circular economy principles, is essential for ensuring adequate housing and creating healthy, sustainable living environments. Such systems can also stimulate local economies by fostering new green jobs and innovation.

The session will invite expert speakers from academia, practitioners, local leaders and civil society and discuss the issue through immersive short videos, interactive storytelling, dialogue, expert reflections and audience engagement.

Guiding questions

1. How is unmanaged waste driving climate and social risks, especially in vulnerable urban areas?
2. What are the practical and proven waste management solutions and experience through local actions for replications and scaling up?
3. How can governments, development agencies, banks, private sector, and civil society collaborate in strategic partnership and promote city-to-city learning/action?

Expected outcomes

This session will demonstrate the day-to-day challenges and impacts of poor, unplanned waste management showcasing practical, inclusive, and innovative solutions presented by experts from government, development agencies, finance institutions, academia, civil society, and entrepreneurship. It will provide comparative insights into effective policies and local practices and learn how to translate circular economy visions and global commitments into actionable urban strategies, and as a means of advancing adequate housing. It will further emphasize financing, innovation, and partnership models as key enablers for scaling sustainable, equitable waste management systems.

This session aims to show how circular economy approaches, especially integrated solid waste management can drive poverty reduction and climate action within the global urban agenda. It will highlight how effective and equitable waste systems reduce climate risks, strengthen urban resilience, and improve living conditions. The session will also emphasize the creation of dignified, sustainable livelihoods of urban dwellers, particularly for women and youth in the informal sector, positioning waste management as both an environmental necessity and a pathway to social inclusion and economic empowerment.