Cleaner cities beyond open waste burning

The challenge of open waste burning

Local authorities often lack enough funding, equipment and information to collect and dispose of growing amounts of waste safely. Informal waste workers help fill these gaps but are not always included in city planning. In Africa, up to 90% of waste is openly dumped or burned.

Open waste burning damages both people and the environment. Open waste burning releases black carbon, tiny particles and other toxic pollutants. These pollute the air, contribute to climate change and increase the risk of chest, heart and other health problems. Across Africa, air pollution from all sources is linked to more than one million premature deaths each year.

Burning also destroys materials that could be collected, reused or recycled, reducing income opportunities for waste workers and recycling businesses.

In Africa, Practical Action’s city-level work focused on Kisumu, Kenya’s third-largest city and a major commercial centre. The city has around 600,000 residents, many of whom live in low-income neighbourhoods where waste collection is weak. In 2024, Kisumu generated around 272 tonnes of municipal waste each day, but only about 27% was collected and 6% recycled. Half of households burned, buried or openly dumped at least some of their waste, rising to 68% in low-income settlements. An estimated 23 tonnes of waste was burned each day.

Despite these challenges, Kisumu already had an existing network of waste collection groups, recyclers and local markets for recovered materials. Building on these existing strengths offered an opportunity to reduce open burning while improving public health, protecting the environment and improving local livelihoods.

A new approach to waste management

Reducing open waste burning requires reliable data, coordinated city planning and practical alternatives that involve people already working in waste collection and recycling.

The project worked at two levels. At the regional level, partners developed roadmaps for Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. These set out practical steps that national and local authorities can adapt, using their own data and input from people involved in waste management. The project also mapped potential funders and financing options that governments and cities could explore to put the roadmaps into action.

In Kisumu, the city adapted the Africa Roadmap to local conditions through four main areas:

• Local evidence: collecting data and mapping where waste comes from and where burning happens to help the city decide where to act and invest.
• City leadership: bringing together groups involved in waste management through a city-led committee chaired by the City Director of Environment to develop a city-level action plan linked to city policy, budgets and investment decisions.
• Community mobilisation: working with households, schools, landlords, caretakers and community leaders to encourage safer waste disposal and greater use of collection services.
• Waste as a resource: linking households, waste collectors, informal waste workers, recyclers, buyers and city authorities so they can recover, sell and reuse more materials instead of burning or dumping them.

By the end of the project:

• Project partners developed regional roadmaps for Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean to guide governments and cities in reducing open waste burning. In July 2025, African environment ministers endorsed the Africa Roadmap, which sets a target to reduce open burning by 60% by 2030 and eliminate it by 2040.
• Kisumu City approved the Kisumu City Transformational Action Plan for the Reduction of Open Waste Burning and Dumping, 2025–2040 and began implementing priority actions.
• 3,000 households in Kisumu’s informal areas enrolled in waste collection services provided by informal waste collectors, reducing their need to burn or dump waste.
• More recyclable materials in Kisumu were recovered and sold through stronger links between waste collectors, recyclers and buyers, increasing opportunities for waste groups to earn income from recycling.
• Kisumu City increased its waste management budget for the 2026/27 financial year by £172,000 (US$232,000) to support implementation of the city action plan.
• Kisumu now has clearer evidence and investment priorities for further improvements in waste management, job creation and climate action.

In March 2026, Kisumu was recognised by the United Nations as one of the inaugural “20 Cities Towards Zero Waste”, reflecting the city’s progress in boosting waste collection, reuse and recycling. Our work in the project contributed to this progress through the city action plan and related waste management improvements.

Looking ahead

The overall project has produced regional roadmaps, a city action plan for Kisumu and practical experience that governments can use to reduce open burning and dumping of waste. The priority now is to build on this work by:

• Putting the Kisumu action plan into practice: Further progress will require better waste separation, collection services, recycling, safer disposal and monitoring.
• Supporting more cities: Other Kenyan cities have expressed interest in taking a similar approach. Practical Action can use the experience from Kisumu to help local authorities collect and use waste data, bring the right people together, decide what needs to be done and identify funding options.

Continued funding can help extend this work in Kisumu and other cities, contributing to the Africa Roadmap targets of reducing open burning by 60% by 2030 and eliminating it by 2040.

To explore partnership opportunities, contact us at: [email protected]