It complains about not finding the Python config tool while building the gobject-introspection lib.
...
Fortunately, I've found a much easier solution to get poppler working in my rails app:
1/ I added the apt buildpack (https://buildpack-registry.s3.amazonaws.com/buildpacks/heroku-community/apt.tgz) to my Heroku app (must be in first position).
2/ My Aptfile file (stored at the root of my app) contains the following content:
gir1.2-poppler-0.18
libpoppler-dev
libpoppler-glib-dev
poppler-utils