Bharadwaj, BishalGates, TaraRose, SobiaAntriyandarti, ErnoizPraveena, Sarva MangalaOranu, Chizoba ObianujuBorthakur, MonjitDhungana, Pramesh KumarShazly, AminathDe-la-Torre, Gabriel EnriqueAllison, Ayse LisaAbeywardhana, Dinushika Madhushani YapaMabaso, SizweAdom, Philip KofiBanga, MargaretDlamini, WitnessKabera, TelesphoreBohlmann, Jessika AndreinaAreeprasert, ChinnathanVeettil, Bijeesh KozhikkodanDieudonne Shukuru, WassoNkhwanana, NyaladzaniKammwamba, AliceRai, Rajesh KumarConteh, BakaryErasmus, Victoria NdinelagoAgbere, SadikouPhonhalath, KeophousoneNjoroge, HopeGlenn, DarcyIshuga, EstherMugisho, Gilbert MubalamaMoolla, RaeesaHounnou, Femi E.Guloba, Madina MwagaleDamiran, UlemjVuthaluru, HariMulagetta, YacobJeuland, MarcGates, Ian D.Ashworth, Peta2026-04-012026-04-012026-01Bharadwaj, B., Gates, T., Rose, S. et al. Prevalence of plastic waste as a household fuel in low-income communities of the Global South. Nature Communications 17, 50: 1-15 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67512-y.2041-1723 (online)10.1038/s41467-025-67512-yhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/109379DATA AVAILABILITY : The survey data, code, and computational environment used in this study have been deposited in two Code Ocean replication capsules, available at https://doi.org/10.24433/CO.6019618.v1 and https://doi.org/10.24433/CO.8594566.v1. CODE AVAILABILITY : The replication code used in this study is available in two Code Ocean capsules: https://doi.org/10.24433/CO.6019618.v1 (Stata) and https://doi.org/10.24433/CO.8594566.v1 (R).Anecdotal evidence suggests that households burn plastics to manage waste and help satisfy their energy demand. To examine the prevalence, extent, and reasons for using plastic waste as household fuel, we report on a survey with 1018 key informants from cities in 26 countries in the Global South. Informants were purposively selected due to their familiarity with the living conditions in their communities. One-third of respondents reported being aware of plastic waste burning, with some reporting that their households engaged in this practice. Analyses of the data reveal significant correlations of plastic waste burning with both supply factors, such as, the massive amount of waste generated (p = 0.000), expensive clean fuels (p = 0.004), and demand factors, including self-management of waste (p = 0.000). Expanding essential public waste management services and implementing programs that enhance the affordability of clean energy technologies, especially among marginalized and low-income communities, could reduce this health- and environment-damaging practice.en© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.Developing worldSocioeconomic scenariosSustainabilityPlastic waste burningHouseholdGlobal SouthPublic waste managementClean energy technologiesArticle