Open Waste Burning in Indian Cities Triples During Winter – WRI Study

Open Waste Burning Latest News

• A working paper by World Resources Institute (WRI) India has found that open waste burning across Indian cities rises sharply in winter, with incidence, quantity burned and associated emissions as much as three times higher than in summer.

About Open Waste Burning

• Open waste burning refers to the uncontrolled burning of municipal solid waste in the open, on streets, near dumpsites, in vacant plots or at collection points, rather than through regulated disposal or treatment.
• It typically occurs where waste collection is irregular or absent, leaving residents and informal workers to dispose of accumulated garbage by setting it alight.
• The practice releases a mix of pollutants, including particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), carbon monoxide, dioxins and furans, depending on the composition of the waste. Plastics, rubber and treated materials produce particularly toxic emissions.
• Open burning of solid waste is prohibited under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, which place responsibility on urban local bodies for door-to-door collection, segregation and scientific disposal.

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News Summary

• The study is based on field surveys conducted between 2019 and 2026 across 11 polluted Indian cities, whose names have not been disclosed.
• The Winter Spike
  • The central finding is a sharp seasonal increase. Average incidence, quantity of waste burned, and associated emissions are up to three times higher in winter than in summer.
  • This timing compounds the problem. The findings come as cities approach the post-monsoon period, when falling temperatures and stagnant atmospheric conditions make it harder for pollutants to disperse. 
  • Emissions released during this period remain concentrated closer to the ground and linger longer.
• Variation Across City Tiers
  • The study categorised cities by size and found differing patterns.
  • Tier 2 cities, those with populations between 500,000 and five million, recorded the highest quantities of waste burned among the cities examined.
  • Tier 3 cities, however, recorded the highest winter incidence of burning:
    • Tier 3 cities: 49.6 incidents per square kilometre per day
    • Tier 2 cities: 46 incidents per square kilometre per day
    • Tier 1 cities: 39.4 incidents per square kilometre per day
  • The pattern suggests that smaller cities, which typically have weaker municipal waste infrastructure, see burning occur more frequently, while larger Tier 2 cities generate greater volumes of burned waste overall.

The Exposure Problem

• Open waste burning was not the dominant source of citywide particulate pollution. It contributed less than 1% of total citywide PM2.5 and PM10 emissions in the cities assessed.
• Yet the study cautions against dismissing it on that basis. 
• Because burning happens closer to homes, streets and waste dumps, it can significantly increase short-term exposure to toxic smoke for those living nearby.
• This distinction between aggregate emissions and localised exposure is significant. A source may contribute little to a city’s overall pollution average while still posing serious health risks to the specific populations living around it.

The Equity Dimension

• The study found that the burden was strongly associated with socio-economic conditions. Poorer areas recorded substantially more burning than higher-income areas.
• The highest incidence recorded in the entire study, nearly 84 incidents per square kilometre per day, was in the poorer areas of Tier 2 cities during winter. This is well above the Tier 2 city average of 46 incidents.
• Researchers attribute this pattern to disparities in waste collection and other municipal services. Where formal collection is irregular or does not reach at all, residents have few alternatives to burning accumulated waste.
• The result is a double disadvantage. Lower-income neighbourhoods receive poorer municipal services, and then absorb the health consequences of the disposal methods that gap forces upon them.

Why This Matters

• Public Health
  • Open burning produces pollutants at breathing height in residential areas, unlike emissions from tall industrial stacks that disperse more widely. 
  • Exposure risks include respiratory illness, cardiovascular stress and, in the case of plastic combustion, exposure to carcinogenic compounds.
  • Vulnerable groups, children, the elderly, informal waste workers and street vendors, face the greatest exposure.
• Municipal Governance
  • The findings point to a service delivery failure rather than merely a behavioural problem. 
  • Burning is largely a consequence of waste not being collected, which places the issue squarely within the responsibility of urban local bodies.
• Winter Air Quality Management
  • Most winter air quality action plans in India focus on vehicular emissions, industrial sources, construction dust and crop residue burning. 
  • Open waste burning receives comparatively less attention, partly because its citywide contribution appears small.
  • The study suggests this framing may miss the localised harm it causes during precisely the season when dispersion is weakest.
• Smaller Cities
  • Much of India’s air quality monitoring and policy attention is concentrated on large metros. 
  • The higher burning incidence in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities indicates that pollution management capacity needs to extend well beyond the major urban centres.

Way Forward

• Strengthening waste collection coverage, particularly in underserved and low-income neighbourhoods, addresses the root cause rather than the symptom.
• Enforcing segregation at source reduces the volume of mixed waste that is most likely to be burned and most toxic when it is.
• Expanding processing and disposal capacity so that collected waste has somewhere to go, preventing accumulation at transfer points.
• Targeted monitoring in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, where incidence is highest, but monitoring infrastructure is thinnest.
• Integrating waste burning into winter action plans, recognising localised exposure as a distinct concern from citywide emission averages.
• Supporting informal waste workers, who often handle collection in underserved areas and are among the most exposed to burning emissions.

Source: TH