Burn Barrels Still In Use In Sullivan County

Take a ride on some of Sullivan County's rural roads and there you will find how some folks take care of their own personal garbage.
Just the other day as evening was approaching a drive to one part of our county discovered at least five burn barrels in use.
State environmental officials have been giving some serious thought of a statewide ban on open burning of household waste.
An interesting figure from this agency said that current rules exempt the 850 towns in the state with fewer than 20,000 people.
We also found very interesting that with the state considering a policy against burn barrels and against burning garbage there are some lawmakers from rural towns in parts of upstate New York have voiced their opposition and said the proposal is overreaching and unnecessary.
The State Department of Environmental Conservation says that burn barrels can allow partially combusted pollutants such as heavy metals, dioxins, furans and volatile organic compounds to escape which can cause illness in people through prolonged exposure.
The DEC says that garbage burned in an open barrel gives off 17 times more dioxins and 40 times more ask than a permitted incinerator.
Statistics point out that burning trash in backyard burn barrels is a health menace.
A lot of today's trash is filled with plastics and a host of other materials that when burned at low temperatures in backyard burn barrels produce a variety of dangerous substances.
Scientists say that more pollutants are created in a couple of backyard burn barrels than are produced in a municipal garbage incinerator.
Let face it rural residents burn their household trash because its cheaper and easier than hiring someone to pick up their trash or hauling it to a transfer station.
One can certainly understand why this is done but the fact is that thousands of other county residents pay the cost of properly disposing of their trash.
Burning trash in a 55 gallon drum which is very often found in the backyard, is very common and surveys have revealed between 25 and 50 percent of rural residences and farms may do backyard burning.
There is no doubt that the problem of burn barrel burning has increased in recent years because of the rising cost of proper disposal of solid waste and therefore part of the solution to open burning will be improvements throughout all parts of our country in convenience and affordability of local solid waste management systems..