E24m to stop open burning of solid waste
MBABANE – A global consortium led by Engineering X won over E24 million (US$1.3 million) for a project aimed at stopping the open burning of waste.
The project will focus on the reduction of highly toxic blacN carbon and other short lived climate pollutants emitted by open burning of waste
$ global project led by Engineering X ± an international collaboration founded by the 5oyal $cademy of Engineering and /loyd¶s 5egister )oundation ± was awarded E 86 mil lion by 81E3¶s &limate and &lean $ir &oalition &&$& to help stop the open burning of solid waste ,t is said that open burning of solid waste has become a global practice that has catastrophic effects on human health and the environment
The project brings together partners from around the world building on a networN of global alliances to tacNle the most pressing engineering safety and sustainability problems and developing practical sustainable and accessible solutions for the engineering profession worldwide
0buso 1]ama the $ccount Executive 'igital 3roof &ommunications $fri ca said the two year project of trans formative action had been developed by Engineering X in collaboration with the ,nternational 6olid :aste $ssociation ,6:$ ,nstitute for *lobal Environ mental 6trategies ,*E6 3ractical $ction and 81 Habitat
He said the project built on the signifi cant experience of the partners in taNing action to end the open burning of waste
$ccording to 1]ama more than two billion people worldwide had no access to proper waste management and suf fered significant morbidity from waste that was openly dumped or burned
³2pen burning of solid waste is also a major contributor to global air pollution and greenhouse gases The problem is global but the impact of burning munic ipal solid waste is particularly acute in many low and middle income countries where people living and worNing near burning sites suffer the toxic effects of polluted air ground and water sources including respiratory infections im mune disorders reproductive abnormal ities and premature death ” said 1]ama
Toxic
He pointed out that the two year pro ject funded by &&$& would focus on practical ways to reduce the open burn ing of solid waste and in particular on reducing the highly toxic carcinogenic and powerful short lived climate pol lutants and greenhouse gases that result from the practice such as blacN carbon
He further said blacN carbon was a component of fine particulate matter 30 air pollution $pproximately four million deaths worldwide each year were associated with long term exposure to 30 air pollution
0eanwhile he added that despite evidence of the environmental social and economic impact of open burning awareness and understanding of the risNs of open burning was poor
He said national and local govern ments development partners civil societies and development financing institutions needed to address the prac tice as a matter of urgency and act to gether to ensure that waste was properly managed
³The three road maps planned for $frica $sia /atin $merica and the &aribbean will help increase action and awareness in these regions by eTuipping local and national govern ments and other relevant bodies with the Nnowledge and tools to plan and taNe action to reduce open burning of waste and toxic emissions $ctivities will also include raising the profile of open burning with funders and con necting them to governments to focus on implementation ”
1]ama said each road map would be built on information gathered from reviews of existing evidence and data field surveys consultative meetings and interviews with Ney staNeholders
He said each would include a picture of emissions of greenhouse gases and short lived climate pollutants per re gion using existing data
He further states that the road maps would be piloted in one city in each region /essons learnt from those city pilots and the ongoing engagement with regional bodies will help to fine tune the roadmaps to improve their feasibility and sustainability at a regional level
2n another note he stated that while specific reasons for open burning of waste may vary in the three regions but they had in common some funda mental drivers such as an absence of basic waste management service and infrastructure institutional weaNness es and emissions of the highly toxic carcinogenic and powerful short lived climate pollutants liNe blacN carbon that were contributing to global climate change The project will be guided by the principle µThinN globally and act regionally¶
3rofessor -im 0c'onald *%E )5Eng )56E 3resident of the 5oyal $cademy of Engineering said ³Engineers have an important role to play in tacNling our many global challenges and Engineer ing X has had significant success in a relatively short space of time in raising awareness of the global practice of the open burning of waste and its impact
Burning
The academy¶s existing international networNs have helped on this score but it is practical action at pace that is now needed if the open burning of waste is to be phased out worldwide ”
-im 0c'onald *%E )5Eng )56E further said despite its catastrophic impact on people¶s health and the envi ronment many people relied on open burning of waste for their livelihoods and it was important that lasting change was achieved through local communi ty focused approaches
³%y leading this new international consortium with the support of the &limate and &lean $ir &oalition , hope we can help those communities most affected to benefit from the economic and social opportunities afforded by more integrated and sustainable waste management systems ”
The professor also said the project was a positive step towards tacNling the scourge of open burning and welcomed other partners who could help them build on the results of the critical worN in those regions
³:e also urge governments funders and international organisations to priori tise as a matter of urgency an integrated approach to phasing out open burning worldwide ”
3rofessor 'esta 0ebratu $frica 3ro ject /ead for Engineering X said ³2pen burning of waste is a Ney cause of poor air Tuality which is responsible for million deaths in $frica every year ,f we can phase out this practice it will dramatically improve health outcomes for the local population and protect the most vulnerable who are disproportion ately affected by air pollution”
0ebratu further stated that there was a huge socio economic opportunity for the $frican waste sector if it could pivot to treat waste as a valuable commodity in a circulated economy that supported decent jobs and livelihoods
³, am pleased to be leading the devel opment of the $frica 5egional 5oad map after a longstanding engagement with Engineering X on this issue ,t is very timely following the $0 &E1 resolution and the launching of a multi staNeholder partnership at &23 to end the open burning of waste in $frica by :e looN forward to engaging with all actors and call for more to join this vital worN to eliminate open burning ” said 0ebratu