Learn not to burn

We've all done it a thousand times. Opened a package of meat, emptied a carton of juice, and wondered, "what do I do with this trash?" An easy solution might be to throw it in the fireplace, wood stove or backyard burn barrel, where it will burn and just go away, right? Wrong.

Remember what your science teacher used to say, "matter can neither be created nor destroyed." That means the trash you burn doesn't disappear. It just changes form, into smoke and ash.

These by-products of burning may contain toxins that are not in the garbage to begin with, but are created by the chemical reactions that occur in the fire. Other hazardous materials exist in a fairly harmless state as trash, only to be released when burned.

Burning plastics, metal, paper and other household garbage causes hazardous pollutants to enter the air we, our families, and our neighbors breathe. Many of the pollutants from backyard burning can cause health problems, from respiratory trouble to cancer.

But, you may ask yourself, if the trash is going to be burned anyway, why not save time and money, and burn at home? It is true that nearly half of our trash here in Maine goes to large incinerators that emit some of the same pollutants that backyard burn barrels produce. But these facilities employ pollution controls that reduce or eliminate pollutants.

A backyard burn barrel is also about three feet tall, right on the breathing level of a young child. Kids breathe more air per pound of body weight than adults, and absorb more of the pollution in that air.

Although backyard trash burning is still legal in some Maine communities, no one wants to live downwind of a trash incinerator, whether backyard or industrial. At the same time, landfill space is shrinking and trash disposal grows more costly. The answer to this dilemma is one we've heard many times before: reduce, reuse, recycle.

Maine recycling centers take a lot of the waste we might otherwise toss into the fire, including glass, aluminum and steel cans, some plastics, paper, newspaper and paperboard. We can use our creativity to turn other materials into storage containers or craft projects. Yard trimmings and kitchen scraps make great compost.

But no matter how much we try to recycle and reuse, we’ll always get stuck with some packaging material that's good only for its original purpose.

This is our chance to vote with our dollars. We can buy products in bulk, with minimal packaging. If we find that something we can't give up is overpackaged, we can let the manufacturer know our concerns. When they see business at stake, they may change how they package their products.

That plastic wrapper in our hands takes on a whole new meaning when viewed as a potential source of toxic air pollution. With a little effort at the store and the recycling center, we can all learn not to burn.