Out of Sight, Into Smoke: The Hidden Emissions Crisis of Plastic Waste
When we picture the plastic crisis, most of us imagine bottles drifting in oceans, sea turtles tangled in fishing nets, and beaches littered with debris. But there’s another, more invisible front to this problem—one that doesn’t make for striking photos yet poses a far greater danger to our climate and health.
Across the globe, tens of millions of tons of plastic are burned every year—much of it in open fires. While this practice may appear to “solve” the problem of plastic waste piling up or washing into waterways, it unleashes a silent storm of toxic smoke and greenhouse gases that poison communities and drive climate change.
A Global Phenomenon Hidden in Plain Sight
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), roughly 12% of the world’s plastic waste is incinerated or openly burned each year, amounting to as much as 50 million metric tons of plastic going up in smoke annually. In regions lacking formal waste collection—especially parts of Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia—burning plastic is often the only available method of disposal. The World Bank estimates that one third of solid waste worldwide is not managed in an environmentally safe manner, with much of the world’s population without waste management systems, leaving open fires as a default “solution.”
The problem is that these fires don’t simply eliminate waste—they transform solid pollution into airborne pollution, carrying microscopic toxins across communities, continents, and ecosystems.
What Burning Plastic Really Releases
When plastic burns, it releases a chemical cocktail of dioxins, furans, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heavy metals—among the most toxic substances known to science.
The World Health Organization identifies dioxins as potent carcinogens that disrupt hormones, impair immune function, and persist in soil, food, and our bodies for many years.
Even at low levels, exposure to these compounds has been linked to infertility, developmental disorders, and cancer.
According to a study published in ACS Environmental, open burning of plastic waste contributes up to 18% of anthropogenic PM₂.₅ (i.e., man-made particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less) emissions in heavily affected regions
Beyond toxins, plastic burning also contributes to the climate crisis. Each ton of plastic burned emits an estimated 2.9 tons of CO₂ equivalent, depending on the material mix. With tens of millions of tons burned annually, this translates to a carbon footprint comparable to burning roughly 800,000 railcars’ worth of coal.
The Hidden Danger of Offgassing
The danger doesn’t end when the flames go out. Even slow smoldering or partial burning—common in open-air trash pits—creates continuous offgassing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene and formaldehyde. These gases spread quietly through neighborhoods, clinging to dust and vegetation. Communities near burn sites often report headaches, nausea, and chronic respiratory illnesses. One study in 2017 estimated pollution to have been responsible for 15% of all deaths worldwide, translating into the loss of 275 million disability-adjusted life years in 2017. The toxicity resulting from continuous burning and smoldering of plastic waste comprises a significant, and deadly, source of such pollution and can’t be overlooked.
The Carbon Cost of Plastic Itself
Even before it’s burned, plastic has a heavy carbon footprint. Most plastic is made from petroleum; producing one ton of virgin plastic emits 2.5–3.5 tons of CO₂ equivalent, while using recycled plastic emits about 1.6 tons. Yet globally, less than 10% of plastic is recycled, and demand for virgin material continues to grow.
This means that every stage of plastic’s life cycle—from extraction to production to disposal—feeds the same crisis. Whether plastic floats in the ocean or burns in an open fire, it ends up warming the planet and harming the world.
Why the “Ocean-Only” Approach Falls Short
Efforts to clean beaches and oceans are vital—but they only address the symptom of a deeper problem. Without reducing plastic production and improving waste infrastructure, especially in developing countries, plastic that doesn’t reach the ocean will continue to be burned.
Solving one problem while worsening another isn’t progress—it’s displacement. To truly protect both the ocean and the atmosphere, we need systemic solutions: cutting production of virgin plastics, funding proper waste collection in underserved regions, and incentivizing circular design and recycling.
A Call for Holistic Change
At Tidey, we believe that ending plastic pollution means tackling the entire lifecycle—from production to disposal—without sacrificing people or the planet in the process. The world can no longer afford to trade visible pollution for invisible poison. The air we breathe and the oceans we cherish are part of the same system—and protecting one requires protecting the other.
Sources:
World Bank, Lab Manager, NoBurn.org, UN Environment Programme, Plastics for Change, World Health Organization, Oklahoma State University, Environmental Health News, ACS Environ, EPA, NIH, PBS, Stanford, Energy Transitions Commission, WWF Australia
