- Engineering X awards £500k to 16 projects in 13 different countries to increase awareness and knowledge of open burning of waste and help implement local solutions
- Universities, NGOs and social enterprises in Africa, Asia, Middle East, Europe and Central America among those with ideas to address local challenges of open waste burning.
Engineering X, an international collaboration founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Lloyd’s Register Foundation, has awarded grants totalling half a million pounds to 16 projects aimed at tackling the human and environmental damage caused by the open burning of waste and reducing the need for this practice.
The projects, based in 13 different countries from Serbia to Senegal, will help to improve understanding of the socio-economic factors associated with open burning of waste, as well as developing educational and recycling resources to support locally-led improvements in waste management. The funding comes from the Engineering X ‘Safer End of Engineered Life’ programme that addresses the decommissioning, dismantling, and disposal of products and materials that pose a long-lasting risk to human health and the environment.
More than 2 billion people worldwide have no access to waste management systems and suffer significant morbidity from waste that is dumped or burned. Open burning of solid waste is also a major contributor to global air pollution and greenhouse gases.
Although the problem is global, the impact of burning municipal solid waste is particularly acute in many low- and middle-income countries where people living and working close to burn sites suffer the toxic effects of polluted air, ground and water sources, including respiratory infections, immune disorders and reproductive abnormalities.
Led by academics, NGOs and social enterprises in some of the most polluted regions in the world, the 16 projects will explore how open burning affects vulnerable communities and identify ways to reduce the health risks, while also ensuring a just transition from open burning that protects livelihoods. Poor waste disposal is often linked with poverty and gender inequality as well as impacting on the oceans, agriculture and water supplies. Tackling the open burning of waste is therefore an important part of achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
These grants are funded through Engineering X’s wider programme of activity to end open burning, following work in collaboration with the UN High-level Climate Champions to launch a multi-stakeholder partnership at COP27 to end the open burning of waste in Africa by 2040, putting the issue on the global agenda for the first time.
Professor William Powrie FREng, Chair of the Engineering X Safer End of Engineered Life programme, said:
“Awareness of the open burning of waste and its impact on human health and the environment is growing but the challenges are still poorly understood. We need more information and data to develop solutions that take into account the needs of the most vulnerable people who are affected by this practice.
“Many people rely on open burning of waste for their livelihoods and it is important that real change is achieved through local, community-focused approaches.
“These projects will not only help to raise awareness of the open burning of waste and the challenge it poses for achieving our sustainable development goals, but also drive meaningful progress towards ending the practice.”
The full list of awardees follows below. More information on each can be found on the Engineering X website.
- ICLEI Africa
Engaging African cities across the continent in creating frameworks and practical solutions for waste management and reduction of open burning, as well as reviewing existing government knowledge and practices. - Gbobètô, Benin
Introducing the ‘3Rs’ method (reduce, reuse, recycle) to school communities including teachers and parents, to reduce creation of waste such as single-use plastics, and educate on accessible recycling points in the region. - ImpaXus, Dominican Republic
Increasing understanding and awareness of the gendered dimensions of the open burning of waste and catalysing the integration of gender considerations into further research and mitigation activities. - Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), India
Development of a municipal framework for tackling solid waste management and reduce open burning impacting vulnerable populations living near dump sites. - Waste Warriors Society, India
Working with informal waste workers to reduce dumping and open burning in the ecologically fragile high-altitude Indian Himalayan Region through source segregation, decentralised waste banks, and material recovery facilities that support dignified livelihoods. - Systemiq, Indonesia
Training local stakeholders in Banyuwangi, East Java, on the dangers of open burning and developing a local taskforce to close down local burning hotspots. - Applied Science Private University, Jordan
Identifying waste composition in remote Bedouin communities to raise awareness of open burning and promote positive social and behaviour change. - WASTE Advisers, Malawi
Creating awareness of the people living at the Mzedi dumpsite to assist residents in separating waste and identifying hazardous materials to improve recycling, health, living conditions and revenue. - Zenafri, Nigeria
Producing an entertaining and engaging film for vulnerable groups in communities close to dump sites that will help raise awareness of the negative impacts of open burning and suggest practical solutions to reducing the practice. - MDC TI Net, North Macedeonia and Serbia
Transitioning open burning in recycling and off-grid energy uses in Roma settlements. - Circular Plastics Institute at Karachi School of Business and Leadership, Pakistan
Generating evidence for open burning and enhance understanding and capacity of relevant stakeholders including local governments and vulnerable groups against causes and impacts of open burning. - Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Pakistan
Building citizen capacity to improve waste management in cities through media engagement, youth empowerment, and awareness for policymakers on the health and safety issues of open burning. - The Adventist Development and Relief Agency Foundation, Philippines
Studying the disparate open burning practices accelerated by delayed implementation of waste management in the region, and provide evidence-based approaches for the local municipality of Itogon. - Practical Action Consulting, Senegal
Reducing the health and environmental impact of open burning through recycling initiatives, increased awareness of health concerns and air pollution on informal waste pickers, and scaling-up of good practices. - University of Central Lancashire, Sri Lanka
Air quality monitoring and alternative waste management in harbours and boat yards to reduce the burning of waste in fishing communities. - Integrated Community Development Initiative (ICODI), Uganda
A multi-stakeholder approach to reduce the risk to human health and safety from the open burning of municipal solid waste in Mbarara City.
Notes for editors
- Engineering X is an international collaboration founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Lloyd’s Register Foundation. It brings together partners from around the world, building on a network of global alliances to tackle the most pressing engineering, safety and sustainability problems, and developing practical, sustainable and accessible solutions for the engineering profession worldwide.
- Lloyd’s Register Foundation is an independent global charity that helps to protect life and property at sea, on land, and in the air. The Foundation has partnered with the Academy to build on the Academy’s network of global alliances to tackle the most pressing engineering safety and sustainability problems and develop these into practical and accessible outputs for the engineering profession and affected communities.