Missing Waste and Open Burning - an Activity and Consumption Based Emission Inventory for CO, NOx, SO2, CO2, NH3, CH4, PM2.5, PM10, BC and NMVOCs Emissions from Domestic Waste Burning in India

Emission inventories that accurately represent emissions are indispensable for air quality and climate models, yet very challenging to build. We present an Open Waste Burning Emission Inventory from India (OWBEII), with a resolution of 0.1° x 0.1°.

We calculate waste production estimates for the year 2015 using the UN-Adjusted Population Count, v4 (2015), a freshly derived relationship between per capita income valid for India and waste and income data from the database of the National Planning Commission India. We calculate a waste production of 215 (+60 - 104) Tgy^-1 for the year 2015.

Approximately 50±5 Tgy^-1 of the waste produced is collected by Municipal authorities, while 30±12 Tgy^-1 is recycled by the informal recycling sector and 60±60 Tgy^-1 is subjected to secondary use as fuel, animal fodder or fertilizer, mostly in rural India. We estimate that 75±61Tgy^-1 of the uncollected waste is burned in the open while 23±5Tgy^-1 is burned at landfills and dumping sites. The largest uncertainties in the waste burning emission estimates are cause by uncertainties pertaining to the treatment of biodegradable waste (60-98% of the total waste produced) in rural India and the relationship between income and waste production.

Emission factors of 36 VOCs were obtained from from several garbage fires encounterd in Mohali and the surounding village. We estimate that open waste burning is responsible for 10.4±6.7 Tgy^-1 of CO and 107±68Tgy^-1 of CO₂ emissions amounting to 16% and 5% of the total anthropogenic emissions respectively. The NMVOC emissions from open waste burning of 3.8 Tgy^-1 contribute approximately 23% of India's total anthropogenic NMVOC burden and are almost as significant as the emissions from residential biofuel use, while BC emissions amount to 64±48 Ggy^-1 (7% of the total anthropogenic BC emissions).