Waste Management Outlook for Mountain Regions

Open burning of domestic waste

The open burning of waste is a major source of air pollutants and particulate matter emissions in developing countries (Wiedinmyer, Yokelson and Gullett, 2014). Studies suggest that as much as 29 per cent of global anthropogenic emissions of small particulate matter (tiny solid particles and liquid droplets from dust and metals that can penetrate deep into the lungs) come from trash fires; and about 10 per cent of mercury emissions and 40 per cent of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons come from open burning (UNEP, 2013). Along with a variety of health impacts such as respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer, the open burning of waste also emits greenhouse gases and Short Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) 1 such as black carbon into the atmosphere, exacerbating the impacts of climate change. Alarmingly, estimates suggest that up to 40 per cent of the world’s waste is dealt with in this way (Thompson, 2014; Wiedinmyer, Yokelson and Gullett, 2014; Nagpure, Ramaswami and Russell, 2015). Several reports on waste management in mountainous regions across the world suggest that open burning is one of the ways in which remote mountain communities manage their waste. For instance, a study in the Hinku Valley region in Nepal reported that tin cans, aluminium beer cans, glass bottles, plastic bottles and other plastic goods are “burned

and deposited in landfills located outside of villages. Local lodge owners refer to these accumulations by the misnomer ‘burnable garbage’, which is indeed burned periodically with little effect prior to being covered with soil.” (Byers, 2014). In Bhutan, local government health workers advise villagers to “burn their garbage in household garbage pits” (Allison, 2008). A 2010 study (Manfredi et al., 2010) conducted in the Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone in Nepal reported that “half of the plastic accumulated in the region is openly burned”, while 40 per cent is dumped in pits or scattered; only a small amount of plastic is reused by locals. Other non-biodegradable items are also often buried, burned or left on the ground. Open burning of waste produces black carbon, an aerosol that can absorb solar radiation (light), reduce albedo (reflectivity) when deposited in snow and ice, and interact with clouds. Through these mechanisms, black carbon has been linked to a number of climate impacts, including increased temperatures and accelerated ice and snow melt (EPA, 2016). Black carbon is thought to play a considerable role in the melting of mid- latitude glaciers (Li et al. 2016). Exposure to black carbon can also lead to a number of health defects including lung cancer and strokes (Crump et al., 2016).

Open burning in Kampala, Uganda. Photo © Tina Schoolmeester

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