Beyond the Blaze: The Hidden Plastic Danger in Wildfires

LOS ANGELES, CA – January 07, 2026 – One year after catastrophic wildfires tore through Los Angeles, leaving a trail of destruction and grief, a new report is sounding the alarm on a hidden accelerant lurking within our homes: plastic. Environmental health experts are urging communities to look beyond immediate fire suppression and confront how common building materials are turning blazes into long-term toxic disasters.

On the anniversary of the January 2025 fires that ravaged over 50,000 acres and destroyed more than 16,000 structures, a coalition of experts released "How Plastics Fuel Wildfires & How to Rebuild Better." The report, authored by the Plastic Pollution Coalition and the healthy building organization Habitable, argues that the pervasive use of plastics in modern construction makes homes burn hotter, faster, and release a poisonous cocktail of chemicals that lingers long after the flames are extinguished.

"As LA rebuilds from last year's fires, we must build resilience—that means using less plastic and more natural and nontoxic building materials," said Dianna Cohen, Co-Founder and CEO of Plastic Pollution Coalition, in a statement. Cohen, along with musician and fellow California resident Grace Potter, has been a vocal advocate for change.

Potter, whose family narrowly escaped the 2025 inferno, shared her firsthand experience. "Building homes and neighborhoods from flammable and toxic plastic is a giant risk to our health, safety, and futures," she stated. "I believe choosing plastic-free building materials and passing legislation to make these materials more affordable and accessible can help prevent heartbreaking loss like this from happening in the future."

A More Toxic Inferno

The central argument of the report is supported by a growing body of scientific evidence. While all fires produce smoke, the combustion of a "highly plasticized built environment" creates a fundamentally different and more dangerous threat.

Research from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicates that the flaming combustion of plastic can produce up to 20 times more fine particulate matter (PM2.5) than the burning of natural materials like wood. These microscopic particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing a cascade of health issues from asthma attacks to heart disease and neurological damage.

When materials like PVC (polyvinyl chloride) pipes, vinyl siding, foam insulation, and synthetic carpets burn, they release a hazardous mix of chemicals. This toxic smoke can include dioxins, furans, formaldehyde, benzene, and hydrogen cyanide—many of which are known carcinogens and endocrine disruptors linked to cancer, reproductive harm, and developmental problems. A 2022 EPA study found that smoke from burning plastic was more mutagenic—a precursor to cancer—and caused greater lung inflammation than smoke from other materials.

This toxic legacy doesn't disappear with the fire. The ash and debris left behind can contaminate soil and water sources for years. After wildfires, toxic runoff and chemical leaching from heated plastic pipes have been shown to contaminate drinking water supplies with over 100 different harmful chemicals, posing a persistent threat to recovering communities.

The Plastic Problem in Plain Sight

The scale of the issue is immense. According to the report, the building and construction industry is the second-largest consumer of plastics globally, surpassed only by the packaging industry. This reality is often hidden from the average homeowner.

"It's the plastic problem hidden in plain sight," said Gina Ciganik, CEO of Habitable, in her November 2025 TEDx Talk on the subject. In her presentation, Ciganik detailed how plastics have quietly become ubiquitous in everything from window frames and flooring to electrical wiring and paints, chosen for their low cost and ease of installation.

This reliance on synthetic materials has created a built-in vulnerability. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards exist to classify material flammability, but these often focus on ignition resistance rather than the toxicity of the smoke produced during a fire. Solid thermoplastics, common in construction, are known to melt, drip, and rapidly spread flames, creating uniquely hazardous conditions for firefighters and residents attempting to evacuate.

Rebuilding for Resilience

In the wake of the devastating 2025 fires, the focus in Los Angeles and other at-risk areas is shifting from simply rebuilding to rebuilding better. The movement towards plastic-free, fire-resistant construction is gaining momentum, driven by a desire for long-term safety and health.

The good news, according to advocates, is that viable alternatives are readily available. For nearly every plastic building component, there is a natural, often more durable, counterpart.

• Insulation: Instead of plastic foam boards, builders can use mineral wool, cellulose, sheep's wool, cork, or wood fiber, which offer excellent thermal performance and are often more fire-resistant.
• Flooring: Hardwood, bamboo, natural linoleum (made from linseed oil and jute), ceramic tile, and polished concrete are healthier alternatives to vinyl or synthetic carpeting.
• Pipes and Windows: Copper or cast-iron pipes can replace PVC, while window frames made of wood or aluminum offer durable, non-toxic options instead of vinyl.

While some natural materials may have a higher upfront cost, proponents argue their lifecycle value—factoring in durability, energy efficiency, and improved indoor air quality—makes them a wiser long-term investment.

Paving a Safer Path Forward

Translating this knowledge into practice is the next critical step. To aid in this transition, Habitable has developed a free tool called Informed™, a product guidance system for the building industry. It uses a simple red-to-green ranking to help architects, builders, and even DIY homeowners easily identify and avoid products with harmful chemicals and high plastic content, while preferring safer, more sustainable options.

Policy is also beginning to catch up. In California, discussions are underway to update building codes, particularly for homes in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), to include stricter requirements on material toxicity and combustibility. These changes could incentivize or mandate the use of the very materials championed by the Plastic Pollution Coalition and Habitable.

The effort to reduce plastics in construction represents a fundamental shift in how we view wildfire risk. It moves beyond clearing brush and hardening homes against embers to addressing the very materials from which our communities are built. This focus on prevention and inherent resilience marks a critical step in creating a safer, healthier future for all communities in the line of fire.