Garden bonfires spreading deadly toxins

A recent enquiry has found that householders who burn their rubbish are now the main source of dioxin poisons found in the environment. Bonfires in back gardens now account for around a fifth of the cancer-causing dioxins that are being released into the atmosphere and seep into the ground.

It is believed that more people are now starting to burn their rubbish in their back gardens, along with an increase in fly-tipping incidents. This is in part thanks to the fortnightly rubbish collections, compulsory recycling schemes, and restrictive wheelie bin rules that now dog much of the country. Many householders are now burning some of their rubbish as it is a simple, easy option.

Dioxins and other similar chemicals are bad because they are thought to cause cancers, lower sperm country, and pose a risk to pregnant women and their unborn children. There is also some evidence linking dioxins to an increase in diabetes incidence and behavioural problems. Dioxins are also thought to remain in the ground for decades and there are now high enough levels to hurt local wildlife and be able to enter the food chain.

The latest inquiry was completed for DEFRA by consultants AEA last year, but the report was never published. Ministers have now put a copy in the House of Commons library.

The report reveals that, “The backyard burning of municipal solid waste is the single largest source of dioxins from open waste burning, likely due to plastic concentrations within the material burned.

“It is unclear what impact improved recycling levels and understanding within the general public will have on plastic concentration in waste burned.

“While controlled sources have reduced emissions significantly, uncontrolled combustion sources have become far more important.”

The report says that the level of dioxins in the ground in Britain due to burning in 2006 at 179.5 grams on the scale of international toxic equivalence, the most common measure. In comparison, domestic rubbish sent to landfill contributed only 114 grams on the scale. In total, dioxins spilled from all sources amounted to 913.6 grams in 2006.