Using left over plastic to light a barbecue? It would have never in a million years come to my mind. Therefore, it came as a shock to me to learn that in Cape Verde it’s common practice to toss plastic to fuel your barbecue. I had already been in the island state for six months, so I immediately thought of the grilled food that I ate that came from open fires and barbecues… What have I ingested?

“I’m a Barbie girl in a Barbie world. Life in plastic, it’s fantastic.” I used to sing that line when I was growing up in the Netherlands without a second thought. But six months into my stay in Cape Verde, I discovered that ‘life in plastic’ can be anything but fantastic when people routinely toss plastic bags and bottles onto their barbecue coals. I had already observed by all the barbecues – from street food stalls and informal restaurants to household grills in backyard – that barbecuing is a tradition. However, the fact that plastic is often not just waste, but also the fuel for a barbecue is something I had completely missed.

Plastic bags or bottles are favorites among the materials to light charcoal fires. A few locals I’ve met on Santiago Island confirmed to me it’s seen as ‘just how it’s done’. However, hard data on how widespread this practice is in Cape Verde is almost nonexistent. Maybe that explains why no one is talking about it and that, on its turn, why I had failed to notice it.

Burning Plastic
Once learning about the practice, I must say I should not have been entirely surprised. Burning household waste is – in Cape Verde like in much of sub-Saharan Africa – so commonplace that it barely raises an eyebrow. In fact, about 70 percent of waste in many African cities is openly burned due to lack of formal collection, indicates UNEP data presented in an ICLEI Africa report in January 2025.

It’s partly due to the lacking waste system of Cape Verde: formal waste collection doesn’t reach everyone. If the plastic trash isn’t burned, it’s either dumped in nature or formally collected on an open air waste site. With openly burning plastic waste as a common practice, you can imagine it hardly registers as unusual when people light a barbecue with coal and see a plastic bag lying around. After all, it’s just how you get rid of your rubbish.

Roasting Pigs on Bonfires: Localized Pollution
One dramatic example of this practice comes from the island of Fogo. In a small village at the foot of Fogo’s volcano, called Pico Lopes, local butchers hold all-day pig roasts to supply the island’s meat market. To remove the hair, each pig is singed on an open fire fueled with oil (or similar) and later turned into barbecue and crispy pork cracklings. They start the bonfire with dry acacia leaves, plastic scraps and cardboard, then keep it going with acacia logs for at least ten hours a day.

An atmospheric study in 2018 monitored the air on Fogo Island, amongst which this village, and the findings were alarming. The acid gases in the air on Fogo were too low to measure most of the time, except here. The smoke there was loaded with harsh acidic pollutants: chlorine-based gases (from burning PVC and other chlorinated plastics) spiked to 427 µg/m³, and sulfuric acid fumes to 101 µg/m³. Those are levels you’d expect to find near an industrial incinerator or chemical plant – not at a rural barbecue pit. In common words, the plastic-fueled bonfires were creating localized pollution clouds.

Health hazards 
When you burn plastic, you’re not just getting rid of trash: you’re filling the air with a mix of harmful chemicals (think dioxins, furans and heavy metals). Those fumes don’t simply vanish into the blue skies; they settle on your food, irritate your lungs and add to overall pollution.

A UNEP-backed report from May 2022 summarizes the dangers in simple terms: open burning of trash – plastic included – releases fine particulates, black carbon, furans, dioxins, heavy metals, and other persistent pollutants. Breathing this toxic smoke can bring on a bunch of health problems. It can bring on a stubborn cough, trigger asthma or make your eyes water. And it doesn’t stop there: over time, it can aggravate skin problems, weaken your immune system, disrupt your reproductive health and there is even speculation of a raise in risk of heart disease.

Across Africa, an estimated 1.2 million premature deaths each year are attributed to air pollution exposure, states the report. As much as one-third of all fine particulates in the air can be traced back to burning household trash alone. Even if tossing a scrap of plastic on your backyard fire might feel like no big deal, it’s quietly adding a dangerous load of toxins to the air we all share.

Old Ways Die Hard?
Yet in a country with limited access to firelighters and limited public awareness about the dangers of plastic combustion, the practice continues without being checked.Part of people’s reason is convenience; the plastic is lying around and will flame instantly. It’s an irresistible shortcut when firelighters cost money and charcoal is scarce. Next to that, the practice doubles as both disposal and kindling; it helps people rid the plastic waste lying around. On top of that, plastic-fueled fires simply feel normal. I’ve shared grills with families who shrug off my surprise, insisting “we’ve always burned leftovers like this”. Questioning the practice can feel like questioning the generations before you.

Medical professionals in Cape Verde have not (yet) studied this specific issue. But given what we know about toxic smoke, it’s not a leap to imagine links to respiratory illnesses or other chronic health conditions among those who cook with plastic daily.

It’s a tragedy that the health impacts related to burning plastic are largely silent and long-term: there’s no immediate dramatic effect that would serve as a warning. You won’t drop dead on the spot from grilling with a bit of melted polypropylene. The harm grows quietly, which makes it easy for people to continue unworried and unchecked.

Time to Change Habits
“A ban on plastic burning might not help if people have no other option to keep warm and cook their food”, a study from February 2025 noted. However, shifting away from plastic may not require grand legislation or finger-wagging; it could begin with small, respectful nudges and practical substitutes. 

Simple public-awareness efforts – such as radio segments or school workshops – can spread awareness about the acrid, toxic plume that plastic brings, without downplaying the joy of grilling itself. Next to that, prompting people to swap in old newspapers, cardboard egg cartons or dry palm leaves can aid. These ignite just as easily but leave no poisonous residue. In many Cape Verdean markets, reusable paper cartons already go begging for a second life as firestarters. Beyond individual choice, municipal or governmental action could help. How? By reducing the plastic scraps available to burn. It requires extending reliable waste-pickup schedules and expanding recycling drop-off points.

I know Cape Verdeans cherish their smoky grills. Let’s hope that ‘a good example is the best sermon’: if local chefs and street-food vendors show that plastic-free barbecues are tastier, healthier and just as traditional, the norm might flip.

My hope is that in the future, that barbecue smell won’t be tinged with toxic fumes. Until then, I am checking what is in the barbecue before eating something that has been on it.