For generations, many rural Minnesotans have burned their own garbage on-site; usually in a burn barrel. It was free, convenient, and easy to do. The problem is, burning your garbage is far more harmful to your health, our health, and the environment than previously thought. Whether it’s done in a traditional burn barrel, wood stove, fire-pit, or at the cabin… if you’re burning garbage, you’re making poison.
Fifty to a hundred years ago, most household garbage contained only untreated paper, wood, metal, and glass. Today’s garbage, however, contains plastics, chemically treated materials, and other types of packaging waste that release a hazardous mix of toxics, such as dioxin, lead, mercury, and arsenic, when burned. Even seemingly harmless items, like paper, mail, packaging, and cardboard can give off toxic emissions.
Among the health risks posed by backyard garbage burning, dioxin, a cancer-causing substance, is one of the main concerns. Dioxin is classified as a persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic pollutant because it is a long lasting substance that can build up to harmful levels in the food chain. Dioxin is formed through many natural and industrial processes including backyard garbage burning. In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) now estimates backyard garbage burning to be the number one source of dioxin in the United States. The EPA has found that one family’s burn barrel can actually produce as much dioxin as a full-scale, 200 ton/day municipal waste combustor! That’s because municipal waste combustors burn at a very high temperature (over 2000 degrees) and have sophisticated emission controls to minimize and collect pollutants before they enter the environment. Burn barrels burn at a very low temperature (which is ideal for dioxins to form) and don’t have emission controls to minimize and trap pollutants before they enter the environment.
From there, dioxins settle onto our plants, water, and soil. Animals eat the plants and the dioxin builds up in the food chain. When people eat meat and dairy products, the dioxin is absorbed into our bodies. The EPA estimates that over 90 percent of our dioxin exposure occurs through our the diet. Small amounts of exposure occur from directly breathing contaminated smoke and from absorption through the skin by coming into contact with contaminated air, soil, or water. Backyard garbage burning is hazardous because it can have significant impacts on our immune, developmental, and reproductive systems.
According to the Minnesota DNR, backyard garbage burning also contributes to nearly half of all wildfires in Minnesota each year. Moreover, open burning of household garbage is illegal for most Minnesotans and it has been since 1969. Despite these risks, nearly 45% of rural Minnesotans still burn their garbage on-site today creating a serious source of pollution that impacts all Minnesotans.
What can you do? Don’t burn garbage. Use local recycling and garbage service or drop-sites. Encourage your neighbors to do the same. Reduce your waste when possible, compost or chip yard waste, buy items with less packaging, and educate your family and neighbors about the hazards of backyard garbage burning. Not sure where to go to recycle or dispose of your garbage at home or at the lake??? Call your local county solid waste or environmental office or visit www.pca.state.mn.us/burnbarrel for contact information for all 87 Minnesota counties. Remember… if you’re burning garbage, you’re making poison.
