Plastic pollution and the open burning of plastic wastes

The open burning of plastic wastes is a practice that is highly prevalent across the globe, toxic to human and
environmental health, and a critical—but often overlooked—aspect of plastic pollution. Most of the countries
where such burning is widespread have laws and policies in place against it; open burning continues nevertheless. In this article, using data from ethnographic fieldwork in urban and rural sites in India, Indonesia, the
Philippines, and Zambia, authors examine local practices of open burning and investigate why regulations to tackle it
have proven largely ineffective. Adopting a harm reduction approach, authors then suggest preliminary measures to
mitigate the health risks of open burning by targeting those plastics and packaging types that are most toxic
when burned.