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 DON'T
BURN GARBAGE
As spring approaches and the snow banks
disappear, its time for cleaning up
the back yard and maybe getting rid
of some unwanted junk from the basement
and garage too. In rural areas spring
clean-up often involves building a big
burn pile of brush and other trash.
Some folks might pour on the dirty oil
from their last oil change or even throw
an old worn out tire on the pile! Aside
from the obvious fire hazards associated
with backyard burning, there’s
a serious environmental health hazard
here too.
Burning household garbage is a well
established practice, especially in
rural areas, and it’s time to
break the habit. Many people think they
are doing the right thing by burning
their own trash, saving space in the
landfill. It’s tempting, when
the closest garbage dump is miles away
and only open limited hours each week,
to start up the burn barrel in the backyard
on Saturday morning. It’s easy
to toss in some trash along with the
wood when you stoke up the woodstove
at home or cottage. Outdoor woodstoves
have become another convenient way for
rural homeowners to dispose of rubbish.
Summer is the time for camping and the
evening campfire a much-loved ritual
for many families. Please don’t
use your fire pit as a garbage disposal
unit. Whether it’s a woodstove
or campfire use just enough crumpled
newspaper and dry kindling to start
the fire, then burn only dry seasoned
firewood.
Burning any type of garbage, including
packaging, plastics, treated wood, used
oil, even newspaper and junk mail, releases
a range of pollutants into the atmosphere.
Home garbage fires smoulder and burn
at temperatures that create prime conditions
for the formation of dioxins, a particularly
nasty family of chlorinated organic
chemicals. They drift in the smoke and
then settle, contaminating water, soil
and plant surfaces. The dioxins then
become incorporated in the food chain,
first in the plants and then in the
animals that graze on those plants.
Dioxins become concentrated in the fatty
tissues of animals. The higher we eat
on the food chain and the more fat we
consume in our diet, the more we are
exposed to these dioxins. Exposure to
dioxins has been linked to a host of
health problems including increased
risk of cancer, developmental problems
in children, and harm to the immune
system.
So what can we do? First of all, reduce
the amount of waste you generate in
your household. When shopping, look
for items with less packaging. Buy durable,
reusable goods, not disposables. Seek
out local recycling options. Compost
organic waste such as food scraps, leaves
and grass. A chipper can be used to
turn small branches and other trimmings
into a great mulching material for perennial
beds and garden paths. Use the nearest
landfill site for whatever real garbage
remains. Waste reduction is not about
reducing garbage to smoke and ashes.
Burning waste is a waste of the precious
energy and resources that were used
to manufacture the product in the first
place.
Enjoy the special warmth and beauty
that comes from the hearth and the campfire,
but don’t contaminate the air
we breathe and the health of our loved
ones by burning your garbage. When we’re
dealing with garbage, we need to remember
the three Rs: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE.
There is no B for Burn.
For more information call EcoSuperior
at (807) 624 2140. |
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