Direct exposure to household fine particulate air pollution (HAP) associated with inefficient combustion of fuels (wood, charcoal, coal, crop residues, kerosene, etc.) for cooking, space-heating, and lighting is estimated to result in 2.3 (1.6–3.1) million premature yearly deaths globally. HAP emitted indoors escapes outdoors and is a leading source of outdoor ambient fine particulate air pollutio...

Waste management in the small island communities of the Maldives is challenging due to the fragility of the low-lying islands and the logistical complexities of a geographically dispersed setting. The Soneva Namoona team is developing a holistic sustainable waste management model that is suited to the context of such islands. In this article, authors present the findings of household-level waste s...

Open burning of municipal waste refers to the uncontrolled burning of waste in households, on streets, in public places, and in landfills. Open burning is prevalent in Indian cities and significantly contributes to air pollution, climate change, and public health crises. Leading causes for continued open burning are that the waste management infrastructure has not kept pace with urbanisation, and ...

This document provides guidance on policy measures and actions that governments, employers, workers and other actors can implement to promote decent work opportunities and to address challenges in recycling operations in all sectors where recycling takes place.Advancing social justice, including the protection and realization of fundamental principles and rights at work, is key to ensuring that wo...

As part of the Waste and Gender Project, this toolkit was developed for a broad audience interested in understanding the connections between gender inequalities in the waste sector. There are three books, available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, along with pullout exercises from workshops conducted with women waste pickers on gender and waste.While academic studies increasingly focus on wast...

Waste pickers around the globe contribute to a cleaner environment, healthier cities and lower municipal budgets. These vital informal workers (and their families) depend on the availability of recyclable materials to earn income. Open dumps pose environmental and health concerns, but any dump closure must include a comprehensive and articulated approach that addresses the impacts on waste pickers...

The visible impacts of poor waste management have taken hold in the imagination of the public in recent years, with images of illegal dumping and marine litter appearing frequently in the media. However, there is a social element of waste management that is also grabbing the attention of the South African public, and rightly so for the role that they play in South Africa’s waste economy – the info...

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) is implementing a 24-month project entitled "Creating the Enabling Conditions for Eliminating Open Burning of Waste Through Regional Roadmaps and City Pilots." The initiative aims to enhance the capabilities of national and local governments to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants from open waste burning. The Royal Academy of Engineering’s E...

Waste incineration is undeniably costly and capital intensive. It is estimated to cost USD 190 million – USD 1.2 billion to build an incinerator with a capacity of processing 1 million tonnes of waste per year. Both capital expenditure and operational expenditure are among the highest for waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration compared to other waste management options such as composting, anaerobic di...

In this report, authors explore the specific benefits that plastics organisations (for-profit start-ups or social enterprises that manage plastic waste collection and recycling) in LMICs currently reap, or could eventually reap, from using digital tools or services or partnering with technology organisations, such as mobile network operators (MNOs). Through desk research and stakeholder interviews...