Plastic-Fried Tofu: YouTuber Exposes Disturbing Practice In Surabaya
Andrew Fraser captured footage of factory workers feeding plastic waste into burners used to fry tofu.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 02 May 2025, 01:11 PM
A YouTuber has exposed a troubling practice at tofu factories in Surabaya, Indonesia where plastic waste is used as fuel to fry tofu
In a 22-minute video posted last Saturday, 26 April, Andrew Fraser, a content creator known for producing documentary-style videos, shared findings from his two-day investigation into 30 tofu factories in Indonesia's second-largest city.
Fraser observed workers burning plastic in large stoves and burners to produce tofu, with most factories releasing thick black smoke into the sky.
"The heat next to each of these deep-frying burners just hits you like a punch, and the whole room reeks of melted plastic," he said.
He explained that grease from the frying oil mixed with plastic fumes, creating a sticky film that clung to everyone's skin.
The video shows factory workers tossing plastic into the fires beneath the stoves, which they collect from nearby rooms piled with waste.
"In the corner of every room is just a mountain of trash. This is, of course, the fuel. They are off-cuts from the factories, unrecyclable plastics, wrappers, packaging... and they all get scooped up by hand and fed into the burning fire beneath the oil," Fraser described.
Citing a 2019 study by the International Pollutants Elimination Network and other organisations, Fraser highlighted the health hazards linked to using plastic as fuel
The study found that eggs from free-range chickens living near tofu factories contained the second-highest levels of dioxins ever recorded in Asia.
Dioxins are a group of chemically related compounds classified as persistent environmental pollutants (POPs). These compounds are known for accumulating in the food chain and presenting serious health risks.
"They were second only to postwar Vietnam, where the soil was poisoned by the [infamous] Agent Orange," said Fraser, noting that dioxins have caused birth defects, cancers, and long-term generational trauma in Vietnam.
While the situation may seem grim, the YouTuber pointed out that Surabaya residents have been eating this tofu for over 20 years.
One local who guided his visit explained that while most people are largely unaware, they might not be concerned, as keeping tofu affordable is considered more important than adopting non-polluting practices.
When asked if she was concerned about how the tofu is made, the guide replied no, explaining that she doesn't eat tofu every day.
"I am not dying because of that," she said, agreeing with Fraser that it is easy to forget the troubling details when the tofu is served in a dish smothered in savoury gravy.
Fraser emphasised that the video is not intended to vilify or shut down the tofu factories, but to highlight the urgent need for a solution to end this harmful practice
He explained that the tofu industry in the city has created a system that traps them, where consumer demand for cheap products makes using plastic instead of wood the only way to reduce costs.
A local told Fraser that these factories are helpless, as no solutions have been provided. The situation is further exacerbated by the government's warnings, which offer no tangible support or regulations to address the issue.
However, he expressed hope that a solution could be found if the government provided loans or subsidies to help the industry invest in wood burners, which, according to one factory, are more efficient but require some initial capital to get started.
At the time of writing, Fraser's video has garnered over 1.7 million views
Many netizens, including some Indonesians, thanked Fraser for bringing attention to the issue, hoping it would prompt officials to take decisive action to address the problem.
Although Fraser's revelation may seem new to some, the use of plastic as fuel in Indonesian tofu factories has been a longstanding issue, reported by the media for several years.
In 2019, the New York Times published the headline, "To Make This Tofu, Start by Burning Toxic Plastic," while the BBC's headline stated, "Western Plastics 'Poisoning Indonesian Food Chain.'"
In the same year, Australian news outlet ABC News reported on illegal shipments of Australian waste being used as fuel in tofu production in Indonesia.
