This is a timeline from a selection of major global and regional waste management policy initiatives over the last 50 years, focusing on key waste sub-categories:

1. Historical Regulations - Snapshot

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General Waste

Solid Waste

Plastic Waste

Sewerage Sludge Waste

Hazardous Waste

Electronic Waste

                                                               Page 2: Waste Disposal Incidents

                                                               Page 3: Links to Key Regulations  & CBRE Knowledge

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Waste Services & Circular Economy

External Influences / Regulation

Market Intelligence  

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Market Intelligence  

This is a timeline from a selection of major global waste management incidents that have helped influence and shape regulation, the ramifications of poor waste management has far reaching consequences:

2. Historical Waste Incidents - Snapshot

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Confidential & Proprietary | 2023 CBRE Inc.

The Aberfan disaster occurs in Aberfan, Wales, when 300,000 cubic yards of coal sludge buries a primary school, and 19 houses. Hundreds of people try to dig the school children, teachers, and people who lived nearby, from out of the wreckage, but 144 people die

The Buffalo Creek Flood disaster occurs when a coal slurry impoundment dam, located on a hillside in Logan County, West Virginia, bursts and results in a flood unleashing approximately 500,000 cubic meters of black waste water upon the residents of sixteen coal towns along Buffalo Creek Hollow. Out of a population of 5,000 people, 125 are killed, 1,121 are injured, and over 4,000 are left homeless. Five hundred and seven houses were destroyed, in addition to forty-four mobile homes and 30 businesses

The Atari video game burial is undertaken as a mass burial of unsold video game cartridges, consoles, and computers in a New Mexico landfill site

The Khian Sea waste disposal incident occurs. The cargo ship Khian Sea leaves Philadelphia with 14,855 tons of ash in its hold. The company handling the waste subcontracted shipment to a company intended to dump the ash in the Bahamas. However, the Bahamian government turns the ship away, and Philadelphia withholds payment to the companies because the waste was not disposed of.  

The ship would be labeled a pariah by environmental groups and over the next two years would be spurned by at least 11 countries on four continents. Late in 1987, armed with a signed contract for the ash to be used as fertilizer, the crew manages to offload an estimated 4,000 tons of the ash on a dockside beach in Haiti, but is forced to leave with its remaining cargo after public protests. Finally, in November 1988, the ship arrives in Singapore, without its ash

The Syringe Tide environmental disaster occurs in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York where significant amounts of medical waste, including hypodermic syringes and raw garbage washes up onto beaches on the Jersey Shore, in New York City and on Long Island. This forces the closing of beaches on the Atlantic coast

The 2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump occurs as a health crisis in Ivory Coast in which a ship registered in Panama, chartered by the Singaporean-based oil and commodity shipping company Trafigura Beheer BV offloads toxic waste to an Ivorian waste handling company which disposes of it at the port of Abidjan. The local contractor, a company called Tommy, dumps at least 540,000 liters of toxic waste at 12 sites in and around Abidjan in August. The dumping allegedly leads to the death of 7 and 20 hospitalized and the other 26000 people are treated for symptoms of poisoning

The Ajka alumina plant accident occurs at a caustic waste reservoir in Hungary, when the northwestern corner of the dam of a reservoir collapses, freeing approximately one million cubic meters of liquid waste from red mud lakes. The mud floods several nearby localities. Ten people die, and 150 people are injured

This is a timeline from a selection of major global waste management incidents that have helped influence and shape regulation, the ramifications of poor waste management has far reaching consequences:

3. Links To Key Regulations & CBRE Knowledge 

Ver 1.0 (May 23)

Confidential & Proprietary | 2023 CBRE Inc.

CLICK HERE to access a link to the Circular Economy Earth Map to view Global Policies by region and country.  You filter by: 

• Circular Economy Policies

• Waste Mgt and Recycling Policies 

• Fiscal Policies 

• Product Policies 

• Extended Producer Responsibilities (EPR) Policies 

CLICK HERE to access links to the CBRE Workplace Safety Advisory and Compliance SharePoint.  The Global Center of Excellence for Workplace Safety's (COE) assurance function:

• Provides control oversight
• Measures adherence to global standards
• Coaches and guides the health, safety and environment (HS&E) systems across the organization
• Collects lessons learned, best practices and case studies  
• Drives a culture of safety, environment and wellbeing
• Operates independently from business segments, regions, and any client-specific, jurisdiction-required or internal audits

There is specific guidance and regulatory information around solid waste and hazardous disposal for each county in the 'Country Profile and Checklist' documents (located in the Country Profiles and Audit Forms section)