A Cheap Fuel With a Hidden Cost: Plastic in Tofu Production

Plastic waste may seem like a cheap source of fuel, but using it to produce tofu can create environmental and food-safety risks. When plastic waste is burnt to make tofu, it releases toxic chemicals, including dioxins, along with fine particulate matter such as PM2.5. These pollutants move through the food chain and contaminate the tofu itself, turning a cheap fuel source into a wider food-safety concern.  

Tofu Production in Indonesia

Tofu is one of the most common foods in the country. Chinese traders introduced it to Java around the 17th century, and it has remained a staple ever since. Today, the average Indonesian eats around 8 kilograms of tofu a year, according to the Indonesian Bureau of Statistics (2021). Tropodo, a small village in East Java, has been a major tofu-producing hub since the 1960s. Because tofu is produced mainly by small, local businesses and widely consumed across Indonesia, production practices can have direct implications for consumer food safety. 

Why Do Producers Choose Plastic as Fuel?

The cost difference makes plastic the cheaper option. A factory owner in Tropodo told The Guardian in 2025 that a truckload of imported plastic scrap costs around $13, compared to roughly $130 for the same volume of wood, making wood about ten times more expensive.  For small producers running on thin margins, the lower cost makes plastic an attractive fuel despite its environmental and health risks. Plastic waste can enter the country without being labelled as plastic waste. Indonesian regulations allow imported waste-paper shipments to contain up to 2 percent plastic contamination. In practice, Ecoton, the Indonesian environmental group that has inspected these shipments, has found contamination levels as high as 30 percent. This creates a route through which plastic waste can reach producers even when it is not imported as a shipment of plastic waste. 

What the Data Shows About Health Risks?

Burning plastic releases pollutants that wood does not. In a 2025 field study, Ecoton tested free-range chicken eggs from around Tropodo and found dioxin levels roughly 80 times higher than the World Health Organization’s safety threshold. Dioxins are a group of toxic chemicals associated with cancer, reproductive, and developmental effects. The same study measured fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Tropodo’s air at levels nearly 20 times Indonesia’s national safety limit. These findings show that the effects of plastic burning can extend beyond the furnace, affecting both air quality and the surrounding food chain.

How Plastic Fuel Contaminates the Tofu Itself?

The contamination is not limited to the surrounding air and wildlife. In a 2025 study, Ecoton tested 12 tofu samples bought directly from producers in Tropodo and found microplastics in every sample. The finding is significant because it provides a direct link between plastic pollution in the production environment and contamination detected in the food itself. For a food eaten this widely, such findings raise a wider food-safety question: how can consumers be protected when harmful pollutants are generated during food production?

Why Plastic Waste Is Still Used Despite the Ban?

Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry announced a ban on plastic-waste imports that took effect in 2025, after years of receiving plastic waste from wealthier countries. However, plastic contamination in imported waste-paper shipments remains a separate concern. Because some of the plastic used as fuel in Tropodo has been linked to waste-paper shipments, stronger controls on imported waste remain important to prevent plastic from reaching producers. 

Making Cleaner Fuel Affordable for Producers

Addressing the problem requires action beyond individual tofu producers. First, the government should enforce the ban on burning plastic waste by regularly inspecting tofu furnaces and penalizing producers who continue the practice. Second, it should make cleaner fuels affordable by supporting access to alternatives such as coconut-shell biomass and helping small producers adopt more efficient furnaces. Third, imported waste should be inspected more strictly to prevent plastic-contaminated paper shipments from reaching producers.

These measures should work together: enforcement can reduce plastic burning, financial support can make cleaner alternatives practical for small producers, and stronger import controls can reduce the supply of plastic waste entering the production chain. Together, they can reduce pollution while helping tofu producers move away from plastic fuel without placing the entire burden on small businesses.