A new global study has revealed that the household burning of plastic for heating and cooking is a widespread practice in developing countries, raising significant concerns about its health and environmental impacts.
Published in the journal Nature Communications, the research surveyed more than 1,000 respondents across 26 countries. The findings showed that roughly one in three people were aware of households burning plastic, while 16% admitted to having burned plastic themselves.
The respondents, who work closely with low-income urban communities, included researchers, government officials, and local community leaders. Their insights provide one of the broadest global overviews to date of this largely hidden practice.
Dr Bishal Bharadwaj, the study’s lead author and a research associate at the University of Calgary, emphasized the importance of the research. “This work provides broad global evidence on households burning plastic, a practice that has been difficult to get accurate data on,” he said.
Bharadwaj explained that in many communities, families turn to plastic as a last-resort energy source when they cannot afford cleaner fuels and lack reliable waste collection services. “We found evidence of people burning everything from plastic bags and wrappers to bottles and packaging, just to meet basic household needs,” he said.
The study highlights that the issue goes beyond energy poverty. It also reflects how households cope with high levels of mismanaged plastic waste. Respondents from low- and middle-income countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America reported that plastic burning serves as a vital informal solution in many urban settings.
However, the practice comes with serious risks. Burning plastic releases toxic compounds such as dioxins, furans, and heavy metals, which can contaminate the air, food, and surrounding environment. Prior research has even detected toxic compounds in eggs collected near sites where plastic is burned. The researchers caution that inhalation of these emissions in confined spaces can pose severe health hazards, particularly for women and children who spend more time near household stoves.
Prof Peta Ashworth, director of the Curtin Institute for Energy Transition in Perth and a co-author of the study, described plastic burning as the result of a “confluence of issues.” She noted that vulnerable communities lack the financial resources for clean cooking fuels and are further burdened by growing plastic pollution and inadequate waste disposal systems.
Global plastic waste is projected to almost triple by 2060, according to the OECD, heightening the urgency of the issue. Ashworth emphasized that governments need to improve waste management programs and expand access to clean cooking fuels through subsidies and other interventions.
The study’s authors also recommended educational campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers of burning plastic, alongside the development of cleaner technologies for waste-to-energy use. “As rapid urbanization continues to outpace the expansion of essential services in many regions, the urgency of implementing these measures will only intensify,” Bharadwaj said.
While the research is an initial step in filling knowledge gaps on the global prevalence of plastic burning, the authors stressed that more studies are needed to accurately measure its scale and distribution. They hope the findings will spur policymakers and development agencies to address the dual challenges of energy poverty and plastic waste management, protecting both human health and the environment.
