PERTH, Western Australia, January 8, 2026 (ENS) – A new Curtin University-led study has shed fresh light on the number of households in developing countries that are burning plastic as an everyday energy source, giving rise to serious international health, social equality, and environmental concerns.
Researchers investigated the energy consumption of developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, finding many were unable to afford clean fuels such as gas or electricity.
The team also found urban sprawl had made traditional fuels such as wood and charcoal difficult to find, while a lack of waste management meant plastic waste was abundant and available.
Published in the journal “Nature Communications,” the study surveyed more than 1,000 respondents across 26 countries who work with low-income urban neighborhoods, such as researchers, government workers, and community leaders.
One in three respondents said they were aware of households burning plastic, with many personally witnessing neighbors or community members doing so. A smaller but significant group reported having burned plastic themselves.
Lead researcher Dr. Bishal Bharadwaj, from the Curtin Institute for Energy Transition, CIET, said the study was the first to provide broad global evidence of households burning plastic to not only dispose of waste, but also cook food, heat homes, light fires and keep insects away.
“This is an issue that has largely been happening out of sight in communities and been difficult to get accurate data on, however this survey provides additional insights into what is going on,” Dr Bharadwaj said.
“When families can’t afford cleaner fuels and have no reliable waste collection, plastic becomes both a nuisance and a last-resort energy source. We found evidence of people burning everything from plastic bags and wrappers to bottles and packaging, just to meet basic household needs,” he explained.
“The practice is far more widespread than anyone realized, but because it happens in marginalized communities and is often hidden, it has escaped meaningful global attention despite the severe risks to health and the environment.”
Dr. Bishal Bharadwaj, an adjunct research fellow at Curtin, holds an MSc in Climate Change from University College London and a PhD from the University of Queensland. His experience includes a role as a postdoctoral research fellow with the Net Zero Australia project at the University of Queensland. Before his affiliation with Curtin University, Bishal played pivotal roles in management, consulting, and research capacities for over 15 years.
As a quantitative economic geographer, Dr. Bharadwaj’s primary interest lies in evaluating the efficacy and equity of environmental policies across contexts diverse in character or content. This multifaceted approach spans energy, plastic, pollution, and climate change.
His research team found that households burning plastic frequently used simple stoves such as three-stone fires, charcoal stoves and makeshift burners to burn the plastic, producing toxic smoke inside homes and densely populated areas.
Women, children, older residents and people with disabilities were identified as those most exposed to the emitted toxics.
At his United Nations briefing in New York on January 7, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric put the spotlight on the burning of plastic for cooking and heating in the ravaged Gaza Strip.
“Israeli authorities continue to restrict the delivery of fuel into and throught the Gaza Stripg, effectively choking off life-savidn services for deprived and starving people,” Dujarric said.
Due to the fuel situation, the UN Population Fund warned that 80 percent of critical care units, including those used for childbirth, risk shutting down – at a time when 130 women are giving birth every day.
“As UNFPA stressed, fuel for Gaza is a matter of life and death,” said Dujarric.
He added that community kitchens were able to prepare more than 200,000 meals every day this week.
However, this represents an 80 percent reduction compared with the more than one million meals distributed daily at the end of April, calling it “basically a trickle offered to people on the brink of famine.”
In the absence of fuel, cooking gas and electricity, people have resorted to burning plastic waste.
“When they do so in makeshift tents, you can imagine what happens with the poor ventilation and the tremendous risks that that poses,” he told journalists at the briefing.
Study co-author Professor Hari Vuthaluru from Curtin’s Western Australian School of Mines said the burning of materials such as mixed plastics and polyvinyl chloride, PVC, poses severe risks from toxic emissions.
“When PVC is burned, it releases highly toxic dioxins and furans, which are among the most dangerous pollutants known,” Professor Vuthaluru said.
“These compounds persist in the environment, accumulate in the food chain and can cause serious health problems including cancer, reproductive disorders and immune system damage.
“PVC ranks as the third most commonly burned plastic, which is extremely concerning.”
Co-researcher Dr. Pramesh Dhungana from Curtin’s School of Molecular and Life Sciences said the study highlighted the risks of food contamination from plastic burning.
“Our survey found 60 percent of respondents thought it extremely likely that toxic chemicals from burning plastic could contaminate food and water,” Dr. Dhungana said.
“Not all plastics pose equal danger, but the most commonly burned types include some of the worst offenders. Polyvinyl chloride, known as PVC and found in pipes and packaging, ranked third on the list. When burned, it releases dioxins and furans, compounds that persist in the environment, accumulate in food chains, and are linked to cancer, immune damage, and reproductive harm,” the scientists found.
“This isn’t just theoretical: studies near plastic burning sites have found toxic compounds in eggs and soil samples.
“When plastic burns near homes and food preparation areas, these toxins can settle on crops, enter water sources and accumulate in foods, creating a hidden health crisis for communities already facing significant challenges,” Dr. Dhungana explained.
An Indonesian whose tofu has been made toxic by cooking over burning plastic commented on YouTube, “As an Indonesian who has eaten tofu every day since I was born, this is also new information for me. Then I realized how bad our government really is. I have no hope that the Indonesian government will do anything. What do you expect from them? There are cases where the Ministry of Social Welfare stole welfare money meant for the people. So no, I do not believe the government will act. They will not do anything. They only care about enriching themselves, while here we are eating toxic tofu and consuming trash from the West.”
Study co-author and CIET Director Professor Peta Ashworth said addressing the issue requires far more than telling households not to burn plastic. Targeted action is required quickly given plastic use is projected to triple by 2060.
“People only do this because they have no safer alternatives, due to root causes such as extreme energy poverty, unaffordable cleaner fuels and inadequate waste services,” Professor Ashworth pointed out.
“It’s essential that solutions include improving sanitation, supporting access to modern cooking energy and working with communities on practical, culturally relevant options.
“This research provides the evidence base needed to design interventions that genuinely support the world’s most vulnerable urban residents.”
The study, entitled “Prevalence of plastic waste as a household fuel in low-income communities of the Global South” was published January 8, 2026 in the journal “Nature Communications.”
Featured image: A worker fries tofu over a furnace fueled by plastic waste in Tropodo village, Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia, May 28, 2025. Plastic waste from America, Europe and Asia, collected for recycling, is shipped to Indonesia. Some is burned as fuel by tofu makers, producing deadly toxic fumes. (Photo courtesy FairPlanet)
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