Waste becomes a social problem #zerowasteeducation

The Great Stink was an event in London during July and August 1858 in which the hot weather exacerbated the smell of untreated human waste and industrial effluent that was present on the banks of the tidal River Thames. For centuries the Thames had been used as a dumping ground for the capital's waste and as the population grew, so did the problem. The hot summer of 1858 elevated the stench to an unbearable level and resulted in an episode known as 'The Great Stink'.

A century later the Great Smog was a severe air pollution event that affected London in December 1952. It was a period of unusual windless conditions, which accumulated airborne pollutants, mostly arising from the use of coal, to form a thick layer of smog over the city. It has been estimated that up to 4,000 people died as a direct result of the smog and 100,000 more were made ill by the smog's effects on the human respiratory tract.