Backyard burning of waste

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A CREW report

People in developing countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh still continue to burn their waste at home. Even the civic authorities have not built an environment friendly garbage disposal system in most cities across the Asian sub-continent. The garbage pick up vans visit the neighborhoods at prolonged intervals and instead of taking away the garbage for disposal elsewhere only end up as mobile incinerators as the garbage is set on fire at the neighborhood garbage collection site itself.

People burn waste on their own premises. What they burn includes paper, cardboard, textiles, food, garden clippings, synthetics like plastic, glass, metal and chemicals. The ‘backyard burning’ could be a cheap method of managing or disposing off waste. While doing this people do not realize that all uncontrolled low temperature burning of waste releases toxic pollutants directly into the air.

Latest research has already established that burning of municipal waste at low temperature and in the open releases deadly toxic pollutants into the air.

Backyard burning of waste at low temperature releases volatile organic compounds that can aggravate respiratory and heart condition as well as cause damage to kidney and liver. It pollutes the air by generating life-threatening toxics like dioxins and furans, some of which are carcinogenic and can cause cancer. Carbon monoxide, which causes nausea and forms harmful low level ozone, and nitrogen oxides that retard the respiratory system and lead to acid rain are also released into the air when waste is burnt at low temperature.

The ash that is left behind could also contain lead, mercury and arsenic. These poisonous chemicals can cause brain damage as well as heart and kidney failure.

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