Outdoor burning of waste in Pennsylvania is almost a sport. One municipal official said it "was a way of life" for many in her community. Some communities completely forbid the practice. Many others allow it, even often times to the point of contradicting state law.
Ah, state law! Even the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is confused on the issue. The Solid Waste Management Act does not allow the burning of any Municipal Solid Waste without a permit from DEP. Yet Title 25 of the Pennsylvania Code allows "A fire set for the purpose of burning domestic refuse, when the fire is on the premises of a structure occupied solely as a dwelling by two families or less and when the refuse results from the normal occupancy of the structure."
PROP's position on the issue is very clear. Open burning is bad for air quality and for recycling and we encourage all Pennyslvania communities to outlaw the practice. To that end, we offer a number of resources to help grassroots organizations, concerned citizens, and elected officials address the issue.
In many areas of the country, residential solid waste disposal practices consist of open-burning / garbage burning using barrels or other similar devices instead of, or in addition to, disposal to municipal landfills or municipal solid waste combustors. The motivations for households that open-burn their garbage may include convenience, habit, or landfill and cost avoidance. Some communities have regulations which ban the open burning of garbage.
Emissions from backyard burning of residential solid waste /garbage are released at ground level resulting in decreased dilution by dispersion. Additionally, the low combustion temperature and oxygen-starved conditions associated with backyard burning may result in incomplete combustion and increased pollutant emissions.
Limited data are available for evaluating pollutant emissions from the backyard burning of residential solid waste. A survey of the literature identified few published studies on the testing of emissions from burn barrels. The available information on emissions from the combustion of solid waste is predominantly based on the testing of municipal waste combustors. Literature exists which describes the nature and toxicity of thermal decomposition products and/or smoke due to the combustion of various types of plastics and other materials under varying conditions that do not include burn barrels.
