Exported Australian plastic waste may be “poisoning” villages in Indonesia, according to a new report which found eggs near dumping grounds had some of the highest levels of dioxins recorded in Asia.

Dioxins are persistent organic pollutants which have been identified by the international scientific community as “the most hazardous and toxic chemicals on earth” and have been linked to birth defects and Parkinson’s disease.

The report, by the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) — a global network of NGOs — found plastic scrap exports are not just resulting in visible pollution, but also contaminating food chains in “dangerous concentrations”.

The study tested free-range chicken eggs in the East Java villages of Tropodo and Bangun, where large amounts of plastic waste from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia end up.

It found eating just one egg would result in dioxin levels 70 times higher than the “tolerable” intake under standards set by the European Food Safety Authority.

“What that effectively means is that you won’t necessarily drop dead or become ill immediately after eating one of those eggs,” toxins expert Lee Bell, who also co-authored the report, told the ABC.

“But if you’re eating those eggs over a period of time, then your risk of contracting diseases such as cancer, endocrine disruption, immune system disorders and so on, dramatically increases.”

The dioxin levels found in the egg samples are one of the worst in Asia, and only second to eggs sampled from Bien Hoa in Vietnam, where the soil was heavily contaminated by Agent Orange used by the US military during the Vietnam war.

Indonesia has become the second-largest dumping ground for Australian waste paper and plastic since China banned imports of foreign waste last year, according to figures by the Australian Bureau of Statistics between 2017 and 2019.

A report published in June by a group of NGOs found imported plastic waste has doubled between 2017 and 2018, with Australia contributing 728 kilotonnes of exported waste between July 2017 and July 2019, according to ABS data.

While tracking plastic imports once they arrive in Indonesia can be a difficult task, Dr Bell said “Made in Australia” labels could be found on waste products at the locations in the study.

“It’s clear that the materials are arriving from countries like Australia, are ending up in the Indonesian environment, either being burned out in the open or [sent] to burners,” he said.

‘The smoke is suffocating’