The Country Lead for the Clean Air Fund, Desmond Appiah, has criticised the burning of waste during the nationwide clean-up exercise, warning that the practice undermines the campaign's objective of promoting a cleaner and healthier environment.

Speaking on JoyNews' The Pulse, Mr Appiah said while the nationwide exercise was commendable, the disposal of collected waste through open burning created a new environmental problem.

"We all received the news of the cleanup with a lot of joy because it's a positive move... helping us to deal with some of the challenges that we haven't dealt with the way we should have," he said.

"But from the readings... it definitely shows that we are trying to solve one problem and creating another."

Mr Appiah noted that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had recently introduced Air Quality Regulations that outline how waste should be managed, making open burning inconsistent with national environmental standards.

He argued that because the clean-up exercise is being led by local assemblies and government officials, authorities should demonstrate best practices rather than engage in activities that contradict existing regulations.

"It is not a matter of just clearing the bushes or clearing the gutter and then setting fire to it or allowing fire to be set to it," he said.

He stressed that air pollution does not remain confined to the location where waste is burned, warning that communities far from the source could still be affected.

"Pollution travels... Air pollution is invisible," he said.

According to him, open burning contributes to the growing burden of non-communicable diseases and weakens public education campaigns against indiscriminate waste burning.

Mr Appiah urged authorities leading the exercise to immediately stop the practice and ensure collected waste is disposed of through environmentally acceptable methods.

He added that government institutions must lead by example if they expect residents to comply with sanitation and environmental regulations.

This story was a collaboration with New Narratives. Funding was provided by the Clean Air Fund, which had no say in the story’s content.