Waste management companies serve thousands of municipalities and millions of urban dwellers with waste collection, recycling and city cleaning services. They process thousands of tonnes of waste annually, significantly impacting the circularity, environmental quality and public health of cities. The 2024 Urban Benchmark assessed 16 of the world’s largest waste management companies. The industry achieves an average total score of 10.3% and is the second-highest performer on the core social indicators (20.5%), which relate to human rights and working conditions. However, it is the second-lowest performing industry on topics related to healthy cities (4.9%) and climate-proof and resilient cities (6.6%). While one waste management company ranks in the top 10 with a score of 35.7%, eight companies score below 10%.
