Report on the Open Burning of Plastic Waste and its Implications for the Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction

The widespread open burning of plastic waste, particularly in nations of the Global South, represents a significant and escalating crisis with severe repercussions for public health, environmental stability, and global development targets. A lack of formal waste collection services for approximately two billion people, coupled with the overproduction of plastics and the practice of “waste colonialism,” has forced communities to resort to burning as a primary disposal method. This report analyzes the drivers and consequences of this practice, with a significant emphasis on its direct and indirect impacts on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Plastic Waste Crisis: Drivers and Scale

The challenge is driven by a combination of systemic failures in production, consumption, and waste management. The scale of the problem is vast and growing, directly impeding progress toward a sustainable future.

• Production and Consumption: Over 400 million metric tons of plastic are produced annually, with less than 10% being recycled. The proliferation of cheap, single-use plastics inundates communities lacking the infrastructure to manage them.
• Waste Management Deficiencies: An estimated two billion people worldwide lack access to waste collection services, leaving open burning as the only viable option for waste disposal in many underserved communities.
• Waste Colonialism: The export of plastic waste from the Global North to the Global South, often under the guise of “recycling,” overwhelms the recipient nations’ limited disposal capacities. Much of this imported waste is ultimately burned or dumped.
• Informal Industrial Use: Plastic waste is increasingly burned as a cheap but highly polluting fuel source in industries such as cement kilns and small-scale manufacturing (e.g., tofu production in Indonesia), a practice known as creating “refuse-derived fuel” (RDF).

Impacts on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The open burning of plastics creates a cascade of negative effects that directly undermine multiple SDGs. The practice is not merely a waste issue but a critical barrier to achieving goals related to health, environment, and social equity.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

The combustion of plastics releases a cocktail of hazardous chemicals, posing a direct threat to human health.

• Toxic Emissions: Burning plastic releases dioxins, fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and other petrochemical toxins known to cause severe health conditions, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, cancers, birth defects, and damage to the endocrine, reproductive, and neurological systems.
• Air Pollution: The practice is a major contributor to both indoor and outdoor air pollution. In households where plastic is used as a cooking fuel, women and children are disproportionately exposed, increasing their risk of chronic illness.
• Food Chain Contamination: Toxic ash from burned plastic contaminates soil and water, entering the food chain. Studies in Indonesia have found dangerously high levels of dioxins in chicken eggs near plastic-burning sites.

SDG 11 & 12: Sustainable Cities and Communities & Responsible Consumption and Production

The crisis is rooted in unsustainable patterns of urban development, consumption, and production.

• Failure of Basic Services (SDG 11): The absence of municipal solid waste management in many communities is a fundamental failure to provide the basic services necessary for sustainable cities.
• Irresponsible Production (SDG 12): The global economic model that relies on overproducing single-use plastics without accounting for their end-of-life management is the primary driver of the crisis.
• Unsustainable Supply Chains (SDG 12): The export of plastic waste from developed to developing nations is a clear violation of the principles of responsible consumption, shifting the disposal burden to countries least equipped to handle it.

SDG 13: Climate Action & SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

The environmental impact of burning plastic extends to global climate efforts.

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions (SDG 13): As solid fossil fuels, plastics release potent greenhouse gases, including CO2 and black carbon, when burned. These emissions are often uncounted in national inventories, creating a significant blind spot in global climate action.
• Polluting Energy Source (SDG 7): The use of plastic as a fuel source, whether in households or industry, is a highly polluting process. It is described as being “dirtier than burning coal” and directly contradicts the goal of ensuring access to affordable and *clean* energy.

SDG 6, 14, 15: Clean Water, Life Below Water, and Life on Land

The residual byproducts of plastic burning inflict lasting damage on ecosystems.

• Contamination of Resources (SDG 6): Ash containing heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants leaches into soil and contaminates groundwater and surface waterways, threatening access to clean water.
• Ecosystem Damage (SDG 14 & 15): The toxic runoff pollutes rivers and coastal areas, harming aquatic life. On land, contaminated soil reduces agricultural productivity and harms biodiversity.

Policy Recommendations for Global Action

Addressing the crisis of open plastic burning requires a coordinated global response focused on the entire lifecycle of plastics. The upcoming UN global plastic treaty negotiations present a critical opportunity to implement binding measures.

1. Cap and Reduce Plastic Production: The most effective intervention is to limit plastic production at the source, particularly for single-use and toxic varieties like PVC and polystyrene.
2. Enforce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): Mandate that producers are financially and operationally responsible for the collection and environmentally sound management of their products at the end of life, in line with SDG 12.
3. End Waste Colonialism: Implement and enforce strict bans on the export of plastic waste from the Global North to the Global South.
4. Invest in Waste Management Infrastructure: Mobilize international investment to build effective and sustainable waste management systems in communities that currently lack them, directly supporting SDG 11.
5. Promote Safe Alternatives: Support communities with clean fuel sources and viable disposal alternatives, ensuring that awareness campaigns are paired with tangible solutions to prevent the unintended consequence of increased burning.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

• The article extensively discusses the severe public health consequences of burning plastic waste. It explicitly mentions that toxins released can cause “respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, birth defects and cancers,” and affect the “endocrine, reproductive and neurological systems.” It also highlights that indoor air pollution from burning plastics leads to “elevated risks of respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other life-threatening conditions.” The contamination of the food chain, evidenced by high levels of dioxins in chicken eggs near a plastic-burning factory in Indonesia, further underscores the threat to human health.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• The core problem described is the lack of proper waste management infrastructure, particularly in poorer nations and urban “slums.” The article states that “roughly 2 billion people worldwide lack access to waste collection services.” This forces communities to resort to open burning. The article emphasizes the need to reduce the “adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.”

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

• The article points to the “overproduction of plastics” as a root cause of the crisis, noting that “more than 400 million metric tons of plastic is produced annually.” It also addresses the failure of current waste management systems, with recycling rates at “10 per cent or less.” The concept of “waste colonialism,” where the Global North exports plastic waste to the Global South, is a major theme, highlighting unsustainable global consumption and production patterns. The call for “extended producer responsibility” directly relates to making production more responsible.

SDG 13: Climate Action

• The article connects plastic burning directly to climate change, stating that “plastics are essentially solid fossil fuels. So when they burn, they not only release toxic chemicals but also potent greenhouse gases.” Research from Guatemala is cited, estimating that open burning contributes significantly to national emissions of “black carbon… PM2.5 fine particulates, and… CO2.” It suggests these emissions are largely uncounted in global estimates, hindering climate action.

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

• The article touches upon water pollution resulting from plastic waste. It mentions that ash from burned plastic can “contaminate local soils or waterways.” In the context of informal recycling hubs in Vietnam, it notes that “wastewater treatment was not a priority. It was just being dumped untreated,” polluting the surrounding environment.

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

• The article discusses the use of plastic as a fuel source, which is the opposite of “clean energy.” It describes how plastic is burned for energy in homes, by industry (e.g., tofu and limestone production in Indonesia), and in cement kilns as “refuse-derived fuel” (RDF). This practice is highlighted as a “highly polluting energy strategy” that is “dirtier than burning coal.”

Specific SDG Targets Identified

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

• Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination.
  • The article directly supports this by detailing how open burning of plastics releases “numerous dangerous toxins,” “fine particulate matter,” and hazardous chemicals like “dioxins,” leading to a range of illnesses and deaths. The contamination of air, soil, and the food chain (eggs) is a central theme.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.
  • This target is central to the article’s narrative. The lack of “waste collection or proper disposal” in communities across Malawi and other poorer nations is the primary driver of the problem. The article explicitly states that for 2 billion people, the only solution to manage waste is to burn it, directly impacting urban air quality.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

• Target 12.4: By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle… and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.
  • The article demonstrates a widespread failure to meet this target. It describes how plastic waste is mismanaged through open burning, informal industrial use, and dumping, leading to the release of toxins into the air, soil, and water. The discussion of “waste colonialism” shows how waste is not managed soundly throughout its life cycle.
• Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.
  • The article highlights the urgency of this target by stating that plastic production is expected to “soar” from over 400 million metric tons annually, while “only a fraction — 10 per cent or less — is ever recycled.” The prevalence of “single-use bags, bottles and diapers” points to a lack of reduction and reuse.

SDG 13: Climate Action

• Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.
  • The article implies a failure to meet this target by noting that greenhouse gas emissions from the open burning of plastic are “likely being missed from global estimates” and are “not counted in the statistics right now.” This indicates that this significant source of emissions is not integrated into national climate policies.

Indicators for Measuring Progress

Implied and Mentioned Indicators

• Indicator for Target 3.9.1 (Mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution): The article implies this indicator by linking the burning of plastic to “millions of air pollution deaths annually” through the release of fine particulate matter and other toxins that cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
• Indicator for Target 11.6.1 (Proportion of municipal solid waste collected and managed in controlled facilities): The article provides a direct measure related to this indicator by stating that “roughly 2 billion people worldwide lack access to waste collection services,” implying a very low proportion of waste is properly managed for a significant part of the world’s population.
• Indicator for Target 11.6.2 (Annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (e.g., PM2.5) in cities): This is directly referenced when the article cites a study from Guatemala where open burning contributes “23.6 per cent of PM2.5 fine particulates” to the nation’s total emissions, a key measure of urban air pollution.
• Indicator for Target 12.5.1 (National recycling rate): The article explicitly states the global recycling rate for plastic is “10 per cent or less,” providing a clear baseline for this indicator. It also mentions specific figures for plastic production (“400 million metric tons… annually”) and waste burned (“30 million metric tons of plastic was burned in homes, streets or dumpsites globally in 2020”), which are components of this indicator.
• Indicator for Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Relevant to Target 13.2): The article provides data from a Guatemalan study showing that open burning contributes “2.4 per cent of CO2 to the nation’s total emissions.” This serves as a specific, though localized, indicator of greenhouse gas emissions from this uncounted source.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis

Source: eco-business.com