Practical Action is facilitating a session on eliminating open waste burning at the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) Congress, 15-18 September 2024.
Open waste burning presents a significant threat to public health and the environment.
In Africa, while there is a range of experiences and practices in terms of municipal solid waste management, open waste burning remains a ubiquitous practice whether in neighbourhoods or at landfill sites. Open burning emits a hazardous cocktail of pollutants with serious effects on local air quality and as a driver of climate change.
Our one-hour session at the ISWA Congress will share experiences and challenges from Africa, and exchange ideas with partners from Asia for shaping regional roadmaps and city level action plans. These will lay the foundations for the transformative action needed to eliminate open burning of waste. In Africa, the roadmap is being developed as a pathway to implementation of the AMCEN resolution passed in 2022 where African states committed to eliminating open burning of waste by 2040.
