Environmental risks of backyard burning garbage

FOR a long time, backyard burning of garbage is one of the afternoon’s daily chores especially in the province, but you couldn’t say that province then had worse pollution, if there is a presence of pollution, than in the city. Because there was even a fresh air in the province, how can backyard burning of garbage pose risks on the environment. Researches show that backyard burning actually produces various compounds toxic to the environment including nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide, and particle pollution. If you wonder who is responsible for acid rain that is one partially initiating the depletion of ozone layer from decades ago to the global warming we are experiencing now and to the formation of smog that surprised us in recent years, you must know that it has to do with the nitrogen oxides, or NOx, which is a group of nitrogen compounds.

The smog that is noted in recent years was discovered in the atmosphere, just as the ozone, because of another set of compounds from backyard burning of garbage known as the volatile organic compounds or the VOCs. The VOCs are carbon-based compounds that undergo photochemical reactions, particularly reacting with sunlight, when released into the atmosphere.

Another chemical element produced by backyard burning of garbage is the carbon monoxide or CO that chemically reacts with sunlight to create harmful ozone. CO production can significantly impact ambient air quality that does not meet Clean Air Act regulatory air quality standards. What people do not know is that burning garbage in a barrel or pile actually produces more CO than decomposition in a landfill. Further, CO is also a significant greenhouse gas. Particle pollution, also known as particulate matter, or PM, refers to the fine particles that produce visible smoke that reduce visibility and creates haze, which is a major air pollution problem for many rural communities. In addition to being unhealthful, particles soil our homes and cars and transport dangerous chemicals, such as dioxins.

To this end, backyard burning also causes residential, brush, and forest fires, particularly during drought conditions in other countries. In United States, about 35 percent of wildfires were started by uncontrolled burning of garbage, brush, and grass. Often, fire hazards are caused by burn piles or barrels left unattended, which grow too large or are not fully extinguished. With the many bad chemical elements and potential hazard that produce harm in our environment, we should reconsider the burning of garbage we have been doing all these years in our backyard. If totally eliminating this sort of practice to preserve our environment then we must do it. (