Yearn to burn in Pike and Wayne counties?

By SANDY LONG

(In the last issue of The River Reporter, the article, “Backyard burning: A neighborly dose of Dioxin?” looked at issues related to open burning of household wastes in New York. This article examines the Pennsylvania perspective).

WAYNE AND PIKE COUNTIES, PA — The stench of smoldering plastic baby diapers rises from a burn barrel in a Wayne County yard. The caustic vapors of smoking Styrofoam egg cartons and meat trays waft across a Pike County neighborhood. It might not be illegal, but it sure is inconsiderate, un-neighborly and just plain harmful to human and environmental health, says Barbara Leo, a Northeast Pennsylvania Audubon Society board member and chairperson of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational Important Bird Area, a regionally-based segment of the national Audubon program.

When Leo, who suffers from asthma, began investigating the rules and regulations of open residential burning, she found that due to Pennsylvania’s status as a home rule state, restrictions related to backyard burning are largely determined by individual townships and municipalities.

Without countywide regulations in place, rules are as varied as the townships themselves in both Wayne and Pike counties. In some cases, residents need a permit to burn; in others, it’s not required. In one township, residents call the fire chief to report someone burning toxic materials; in another, they call the zoning officer. The resulting inconsistency makes matters murky, much like the smoky haze produced by a backyard burn barrel.

Who’s watching the backyard burn shop?

When it comes to taking out the trash, some of us venture only as far as the backyard burn barrel. And who’s to stop us? In Pennsylvania, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulates air quality impacts, but not if the waste is domestic refuse and “the burning occurs on the property of private residences where not more than two families are living.”

“Domestic refuse” must be the result of “normal occupancy” and does not include “demolition waste, insulation, shingles, treated wood, paint, painted or stained objects or furniture, tires, mattresses, box springs, metal, insulating coating on wire, television sets and appliances, automobiles, automotive parts, batteries, PVC products, waste oil and other petroleum products,” according to the DEP.

At the township level, local officials may enact open burning ordinances. The DEP provides a “model open burning ordinance” that communities can customize to address their specific needs. The ordinance, along with other information related to open burning, is available at www.depweb.state.pa.us (keyword: “open burning”) or by calling 717/787-9702.

The DEP lists the possible health effects of breathing the pollutants from burning trash as the following: coughing and irritation of the respiratory tract and eyes; damage to the lungs, kidneys, nervous system and liver; long-term effects such as cancer and emphysema; delays in child development and damage to the immune system. The DEP strongly encourages practicing alternatives to open burning (see “Breaking the urge to burn” below).

The problem with plastics

In its publication, “Open Burning of Residential Trash in PA,” the DEP points out that the nature of residential trash has changed over the past 50 years, resulting in substantial changes in the byproducts of burning plastic products, packaging and other synthetic materials. When plastics are burned, a host of toxic chemicals are produced, including arsenic, formaldehyde, lead, carbon monoxide, benzene, furans, PCBs and dioxins (a group of 30 chemicals classified as persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic pollutants).

Leo and the Honesdale-based NEPA Audubon Society have called for a countywide ban on the practice of burning plastics as an important first step to improving local air quality for the benefit of both humans and the environment. The organization has also requested that the Wayne County Recycling Center expand its plastics recycling program beyond types one and two. For more information, contact the NEPA Audubon Society through its website at www.nepaaudubonsociety.org or call 570/253-9250.

Breaking the urge to burn

Old ways of doing things become obsolete once new information indicates the need for change. Smoking cigarettes in restaurants and other public places was a commonly accepted practice in the past. Many believe that change is in the wind when it comes to backyard burning.

For information on alternatives, visit www.epa.gov/msw/backyard (click on “what you can do” for community alternatives). In addition, the following alternatives to backyard burning are suggested:

1. Reduce: Buy fewer items and select those with recyclable packaging. Avoid purchasing products packaged in plastic, which contains carbon and chlorine and produces dioxin when burned.

2. Reuse: Choose products that can be re-used or come in containers that can be re-filled. Repair items and donate unwanted items to friends or charities.

3. Recycle: Utilize local recycling centers and encourage others to do so. Purchase recycled products to increase demand.

4. Compost: Plant-based kitchen and yard waste is easily composted into a valuable soil amendment.

5. Dispose: Purchase sanitation services (PA); deliver household waste to transfer stations (NY); work with neighbors to develop a service that fits your community’s needs.

6. Grasscycle: Leave grass clippings on the lawn where they will decompose and provide a natural fertilizer.