Burning & Breathing

Hazards and Alternatives to Open Burning
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Story and photo by Sally Wagoner, Chair, Newaygo County Environmental Coalition

Ahhh, Autumn.
 Who doesn’t love Fall with its crisp air and vibrant colors? You know the season is turning when you begin to see a haze in the neighborhood and detect the acrid smell of burning leaves. Get me my marshmallows!

Burning Hazards:

But open burning of leaves and trash produce hazards that we should all be aware of, and make good decisions about.

The microscopic particles released with burning find their way into the deepest parts of our lungs, causing respiratory damage, disease and sometimes even cancer. The release of carbon monoxide from burning is dangerous to everyone, but especially to infants, children, the elderly and those with lung and heart problems.

“My yard, my trash, my problem!” some may say. But the smoke, hydrocarbons, irritants and poisons don’t stay neatly in your yard. They float all across our neighborhoods, woods and farmlands, swept by even the slightest breeze, ready to be breathed in by your kids playing football outside, your grandma with COPD sitting in her living room, and by the newborn coming home for the first time. This can jump start asthma in children, or make just the simple and essential act of breathing deadly for others.

Many people in rural Michigan heat with wood stoves, so there is already a greater amount of smoke and particles in our air. Aside from the necessity of keeping warm, the need for limiting what we burn, and how much of it, is great.

Trash burning especially produces a huge amount and variety of toxins. Plastic, rubber, foam, Styrofoam, chemically treated wood, textiles, electronics, chemicals or hazardous materials should never be burned at home.
Oh, and did we mention the potential for starting unintentional fires in our yards, homes or woods with open burning?

Burning Alternatives – Healthier Options
Here are a few ways we can “Ban the Burn”:

1. Recycle appropriate plastic, Styrofoam, paper and cardboard – don’t burn!
   Newaygo County has 6 drop off recycling sites, with some villages providing curbside options. Styrofoam can even be recycled at the Fremont drop off site.
   Visit www.NewaygoCountyMi.gov, search “recycling” for more information.
   Recycling lowers the cost of our trash service bills as well as keeping more garbage out of our landfills.
   
   
   
2. Use trash services for your garbage: Newaygo County has transfer stations and private waste haulers to take care of your trash.
   
   
   
3. Lawn and leaf debris can often be picked up by your local village, and are then composted or chipped instead of burned.
   
   
   
4. Let your leaves be for your garden!
   Did you know that leaves can be used instead of expensive mulch in your garden?
   And if you create a “leaf pile”, it decomposes to a fraction of its original size quickly. The rich “compost” beneath the surface is better, and cheaper, than any garden soil you can buy!
   
   
   
5. Let your leaves be for our pollinators and beneficial insects!
   Our beautiful firefly populations would rebound robustly if we let them have our leaves in which to lay their eggs. Many other insects and bees that pollinate our food and flowers need leaves for protection and hibernation. So “leave” some of those leaves under your shrubs, around the base of your trees, and between the plants in your garden. Then find a discreet place to pile up the rest for our bees, fireflies and to make good rich soil compost. (And if you found yourself wanting to jump into that autumn leaf pile, well that’s your business!).
   

Let’s start a “Ban the Burn” campaign, Newaygo County! For the health of your children, your family, our community, and our environment.


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