Burning of Household Trash Releases Many Toxins

According to an article in the January 4 edition of the

New York Times, the

backyard burning of household trash may release more dioxins and furans into the atmosphere than are released by all of the nation’s municipal incinerators. An estimated 20 million people in the U.S. burn their trash in uncontrolled backyard incinerators. A single such barrel may release more of these highly toxic chlorinated compounds than a municipal incinerator serving tens of thousands of households, according to the article. The research was conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Open Burning Test Facility in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and will be reported fully in the February issue of the journal

Environmental Science & Technology. The research also indicated that recycling may worsen this problem—with recyclables taken out of the waste stream, the remaining trash has a higher concentration of materials containing chlorine, such as PVC plastics.