Improper management of waste can have many long-lasting effects on the environment. Some of which include, causing air pollution, climate change, soil and water contamination, loss of biodiversity and many more, which in turn can have adverse effects on human health. 

When waste is not managed properly there can be an accumulation of that waste in a particular area. For instance, near my school there's a river that is overflowing with waste, the pile up has led to the area around the river being uninhabitable due to the smell. Throughout the years the amount small plants and trees that grew in that area have completely deteriorated. It will take a while to restore this river to what it once was. In cases more extreme than this, buildup of different kinds of waste can lead to the break down and release of chemicals into the air, which causes air pollution. The inhalation of these chemicals when mixed can cause serious health problems like lung cancer and asthma. 

Waste can also cause the contamination of soil and water. In water contamination when there is pollution of water resources, it can cause contamination of drinking water and many more. In underdeveloped areas of the world where there are no modern types of water purification people will generally boil the contaminated water and drink it as is, without further chemical purification. If the water source had been contaminated by industrial waste, which often in Ethiopia is not properly cleansed before being poured into water sources, these people could potentially be drinking extremely harmful chemical substances which need proper treatment. These areas are rife with health problems most common of which is cholera. Soil pollution is another effect of improper waste disposal which leads to the death of crops and toxification of the soil.

If we were to properly manage our waste we could use it as a resource in energy production as biofuel and more.

     Sources

https://www.geo.fu-berlin.de/en/v/iwm-network/learning_content/watershed-resources/ressource_water/quantity_quality/pollution.html

https://www.gorillabins.ca/blog/what-are-the-environmental-impacts-of-waste-disposal/

https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/signals-2014/articles/waste-a-problem-or-a-resource#:~:text=Air%20pollution%2C%20climate%20change%2C%20soil,gas%20linked%20to%20climate%20change.

https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/effects-wastewater-environment.php