Burning plastic waste in East Java villages tied to high disease risk, researchers find

Researchers from the Climate and Health Centre at Brawijaya University were studying air pollution across East Java when they stumbled onto something else: villagers burning plastic waste. Pre-screening tests earlier this year flagged worrying results, according to researcher Sekar Aqila Salsabilla. At least 20 per cent of more than 4,000 participants across six villages were at high risk of cardiovascular disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Salsabilla, who worked with more than 30 researchers, most of them with medical backgrounds, said the communities had no idea what the smoke was doing to them. People earning money sorting waste, known locally as plastic farmers, knew their health was slowly declining but couldn't identify why. She said the long-term health burden they face is likely to be far greater than the money they earn from handling and burning the waste.

Ahmad Yani, a villager in East Java, spent hours a day sifting rubbish for recyclables, making about 300,000 rupiah ($24) a month. His family and neighbours bought truckloads of waste residue from factories recycling imported paper and cardboard, separating plastic from paper. Leftover plastics were burned to fire limestone kilns for building materials. Yani said some kiln operators he knew died from respiratory diseases, with the causes never determined. He said the burning stopped about a year ago, after local media reported companies halted waste deliveries, angering locals who lost income. The ABC couldn't independently verify why the practice ended.

Most plastic waste in the area is now converted into refuse-derived fuel and burned in a designated facility, Salsabilla said. But she argued that only relocates the problem, since the facility still needs people to sort the waste. The World Health Organization says emissions from open waste burning carry pollutants that can cause coughing, skin irritation and respiratory diseases. Agus Rusly, waste reduction director at Indonesia's Ministry of Environment, told the ABC that poor access to waste services, irregular collection and limited recycling facilities all drive open burning. He said the ministry is working with regional governments on a national framework aimed at comprehensive waste management by 2029.

Environmentalists say Australian plastic is part of the problem. Daru Setyorini, executive director of activist group Ecoton, said plastics with Australian labels can still be found in East Java and villagers are still secretly burning them, though the volume has dropped significantly since 2024. Australia exported 701,000 tonnes of paper and cardboard to Indonesia in the recent financial year, according to Joe Pickin at Blue Environment, who analysed Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water data. Indonesia caps contamination in paper waste imports at 2 per cent.