Environmental evaluation of plastic waste end-of-life pathways in Malang District, Indonesia: a life cycle approach.

Purpose: Malang is an Indonesian District struggling with waste management: low collection rates, fly-tipping, and burning. This study conducts a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on the end-of-life pathways of plastic waste (PW) in Malang. All the stages of the PW management system are covered, from PW generation and transportation to unregulated and regulated PW management strategies. Ultimately, the findings aim to support policymakers in understanding the environmental impact of PW management and how to mitigate it. Methods: Stakeholder interviews provided primary data, which informed the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) across all stages of the PW management system in villages of Malang District. The data was then adapted into the functional unit (FU) of 1 kg of PW generated and statistically analysed to understand PW end-of-life trends. The LCA was conducted using the open-source software Activity Browser. In this case, the ReCiPe v1.03 midpoint impact categories considered were global warming, primary energy depletion, and particulate matter formation. The results of the analysed villages were compared with the national average. The PW from four villages (Bakalan, Krebet Senggrong, Krebet, and Tlogorejo) were modelled under three end-of-life scenarios i.e., landfilling, recycling, and incineration with energy recovery to inform intervention selection. Results and discussion: In the baseline scenarios of the villages, the highest impact in Global Warming Potential, Fossil Fuel Potential, and Particulate Matter Formation Potential (GWP100, FFP, and PMFP, respectively) was linked to higher rates of open burning (e.g., Krebet Senggrong where 35% of waste is open burned). Villages with the highest recycling rates however present lower GWP100 and FFP, such as the case of Bedali and Mangunrejo, where 16.6% and 14.3% of plastic is recycled, respectively. Low PMFP is tied to options such as landfilling, which occurred in Rekasan. The alternative intervention strategy with the lowest environmental impact is recycling (when considering avoided plastic production, GWP100 and FFP are negative). However, it is the alternative with the highest PMFP, even surpassing the baseline scenario. Conclusion: Open burning remains one of the most prevalent PW management strategies in Malang, which is not only detrimental to the environment but also proven to negatively impact human health, particularly respiratory health. It is essential not only to increase waste collection and treatment rates, but also to ensure that waste‑management practices meet environmental standards and minimise adverse impacts on human health and the environment. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-026-02751-9.