AB158. Open burning of plastic waste and its effects on health in rural areas of Sri Lanka

Background: Plastic waste open burning is an escalating yet underreported threat to environmental and public health, particularly in rural regions with limited formal waste systems. In Sri Lanka’s rural areas, this remains a routine disposal method. It is largely unregulated, posing serious local health risks and contributing to broader transboundary pollution.

Methods: This study investigates the extent and health impacts of plastic waste open burning in rural Sri Lanka through a combination of primary and secondary resources. In the first section, country-, rural-, and village-level statistics are examined to acknowledge national plastic waste trends. In the second section, to understand the environmental and health effects brought by plastic open burning, levels of different pollutants near plastic burning areas are compared with the World Health Organization (WHO)’s air quality standards. Types of diseases that can be caused by each pollutant are also listed. Besides, to understand the local context, we conducted on-site air quality tests in Pallewela, Sri Lanka. As particulate matter ≤2.5 µm (PM_2.5) dominates among the pollutants, further analysis of how intensified PM_2.5 exposure increases health and hospitalization risks is presented.

Results: In the first section, data show that Sri Lanka mismanages 89% of its annual 260,000 tonnes of plastic waste, 2.78 times the global average. In rural areas, 74% of plastic waste is mismanaged, with 11.5% openly burned. This causes environmental contamination, with 60% of sand and 70% of surface water samples in affected regions containing microplastics. Though national figures for open burning seem scarce, the practice remains widespread in rural areas due to gaps in waste collection systems. This is supported by our 2025 cross-sectional field study in Pallewela, where primary data from 100 households revealed that 97% of plastic waste is openly burnt. The second section of the study shows that pollutants released near plastic burning sites, including carbon monoxide (CO), PM_2.5, dioxins, furans, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and nitrogen oxides (NOx), are significantly higher when compared to WHO benchmarks. Clear correlations were also found between exposure to these pollutants and increased chances of pulmonary, respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, research demonstrates that per 1 μg of PM_2.5/m³ increases health and hospitalization risks of all-cause respiratory diseases, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), acute upper respiratory infection, influenza, and pneumonia by 0.36% to 0.79%.

Conclusions: This study helps fill a critical data gap and underscores the urgency for both local and global efforts to eliminate plastic open burning, advance waste management, and safeguard public health.

Keywords: Plastic waste management; open burning; air pollutants; Sri Lanka; public health