Mismanagement of plastic waste through open burning with emphasis in the Global South: A systematic review of risks to occupational and public health

Abstract

Large quantities of mismanaged plastic waste threaten the health and wellbeing of billions worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where waste management capacity is being outstripped by increasing levels of consumption and plastic waste generation. One of the main self-management strategies adopted by 2 billion people who have no waste collection service, is to burn their discarded plastic in open, uncontrolled fires. While this strategy provides many benefits, including mass and volume reduction, it also results in the release of chemical substances and particles that may pose serious risks to public health and the environment. We followed PRISMA guidelines to select and review 20 publications that provide evidence on potential harm to human health from open burning plastic waste, arranging evidence into eight groups of substance emissions: brominated flame retardants; phthalates; potentially toxic elements; dioxins and related compounds; bisphenol A; particulate matter; and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. We semi-quantitatively assessed 18 hazard-pathway-receptor combination scenarios to provide an indication of the relative harm of these emissions so that they could be ranked, compared and considered in future research agenda. This assessment overwhelmingly indicated high risk of harm to waste pickers, a large group of 11 million informal entrepreneurs who work closely with waste, delivering a circular economy but often without protective equipment or many structured, safe system of work. Though the risk to human health from open burning emissions is high, this remains a substantially under-researched topic.

Plastics as an Educational Resource for Sustainable Development: A Case Study in Ghana

“…These countries accumulate tonnes of waste from other countries as well as their own. Furthermore, they often conceive of plastics as a prosperous material that is beneficial for the food industry, construction, and transportation, regardless of how this flood of plastics can increase their vulnerability [71]. Plastics also affect people in many other ways beyond pollution.…”

Determining the Illegal Waste Disposal in Coastal Area using Transect Walk Approach

“…Waste collection services must be improved to serve all waste generation in Sayung District. The absence of waste management services encourages people to throw their waste anywhere and burn it (Velis et al, 2021b). Therefore, a policy may be required to provide decentralized waste management services in rural and coastal areas (Orhorhoro et al, 2017).…”

Coral reef conservation in Bali in light of international best practice, a literature review

“…Unsurprisingly, plastic pollution is therefore a substantial issue in Bali (Turak and Devantier 2013, Giesler 2018, Brooijmans et al 2019. Much of the islands plastic is disposed of by being dumped in rivers or the sea (posing serious direct marine pollution threats (Lestari and Trihadiningrum 2019)) or by being burnt (releasing organic aerosols thought to pose serious risks to human health and the environment (Velis and Cook 2020)). Most recent data on plastic pollution in Benoa Bay, South Bali indicates that microplastics are abundant in Bali's marine environment, being detected in the surface waters of all four research stations (Suteja et al 2021).…”