The United Nations has raised concerns about the amount of black carbon and methane produced from open burning as a method of waste disposal.
[7] Studies by researchers from London's King’s and Imperial colleges both showed that burning of polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate produce high amounts of soot.
[9] In September 2022, an agreement was reached on reducing open waste burning in Africa at the 18th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN).
[2][10][11] The reduction of open burning can drastically change the air pollutants in the local area, therefore having a transformational impact on human health in that particular region.
[13] At a United Nations summit in 2022, the delegation focused on job creation as one potential solution to eradicate the practice of open burning of waste, namely in Africa.