Open Burning

I started an educational campaign on open burning in the early 90's as the volunteer chair of the education committee of the local county environmental management council. The use of burn barrels had escalated when the price of trash disposal increased locally as a means to encourage people to participate in the state's new recyling mandate. The state law only protected people from open burning in high density cities and ignored the close proximity of people in rural hamlets. I didn't really do a cbsm approach, but I did talk to a lot of people who were being negatively affected by neighbor's burn barrels, and learned about some of the social dynamics from them (including being threatened with a shotgun for simply asking that their neighbor move his barrel away from their property line so that the smoke wouldn't come into their kitchen). Over a two-year period, I did a pilot project in my municipality. We adapted five fact sheets on open burning that the Vermont Lung Assoc. put together, and developed our own brochure using an artist friend for illustrations. The fact sheets had simple cartoon figures on one side with very simple messages (basically aimed at the less educated barrel users) and the backside of the sheet had detailed technical and toxicological information (basically to give the victims of burn barrels some facts to back up their requests for change). Three of us picked out two hamlets and one stretch of rural road (where a friend jogged every day). We noted active burn barrels at the beginning of the project. Then we had the county mail out to everyone in the target areas over several months time: first the brochure, then the five fact sheets (one a month). Meanwhile, we took our exercise walks and tried to observe how many burn barrels were still active. After a while, there were very few burn barrels in the hamlets, though the rural road still seemed to have several active barrels. We also held a public forum, ran radio PSAs, and I debated the matter at the county legislature. Plenty of opposition from rural traditionalists, but as time went on there was less angry and toxic reaction. I left the EMC when I became too busy with a new job; but I was really glad that ten years later the county finally passed a resolution banning all open burning except for agricultural operations (though people are working on solving that one too). They are still using our brochure and fact sheets as handouts. I also worked to convince the local health department that open burning was a health threat (our environmental health officer did not think it was a problem at first). This led to greater enforcement of the few laws on the books at the time (such as no burning where it might adversely affect an already vulnerable person), and much greater reporting of complaints (due to public education campaign that strengthened people's sense of having a right to complain). We did not reduce the barriers to having trash taken to a landfill. (We already have curbside recycling pickup, and easy ways to get trash to landfill. And I didn't have money to haul people's trash for them.) Instead we increased the benefits of changing the behavior through intensifying social norms against having a burn barrel that stinks up the neighborhood and risks the health of local children. The norm seems to have stuck. I never smell burn barrels in my hamlet anymore, and rarely see an active burn barrel in the other hamlet that I walk through.

Good luck with your program.
Gay Nicholson

Hi Elisabeth.

Visit http://www.ecosuperior.com/openburning.html to see what Lake Superior in Ontario is doing to educate residents about open burning. As well as http://www.c2p2online.com/main.php3?section=137&doc_id=289&session=/. I suspect there are quite a few barriers to bringing your material to a waste site. One could be lack of information. Not knowing operating hours, what they accept for payment, sorting requirements, etc would make residents less likely to bring their material to a waste site and more likely to burn it or dispose of it in other illegal forms. Others likely include transportation-how do they get it from where it is generated to the waste site, as well as the inconvenience factor. I think education and enforcement are one of the two tools that would work to convince people not to open burn. Enforcement is obviously a last resort but I know the attitudes around open burning and education may not be enough to convince them not to burn their garbage. (Although I just read a reply on today's posting to your topic and education seemed to work for him).

Good luck with your project.
Elizabeth Kenrick

Communications Supervisor
Ottawa Valley Waste Recovery Centre
900 Woito Station Road Pembroke, ON K8A 6W5
(PH) 613-735-7537
(FX) 613-735-1837
www.ovwrc.com

The U.S. EPA has a web page with several good resources on backyard burning, at http://www.epa.gov/garbage/backyard/ The priority on the issue is due to the determination that open burning of household trash is largest single source of dioxin in the air.

Bill Carter

Water Quality Monitoring & Assessment MC
165 Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 13087 Austin, TX 78711-3087
Phone: 512-239-6771
Fax: 512-239-4410
[email protected]
[email protected]

Several of my colleagues and I are interested in starting a CBSM project looking at open burning (burn barrels and burn piles), in particular getting people to stop burning. We are interested in knowing whether anyone out there has attempted something similar. We are leaning towards a burn barrel exchange project, but that may be jumping the gun.

Thanks in advance for the input.
Kris Tiles

Basin Educator- Upper Chippewa University of Wisconsin-
Extension 875 S 4th Ave Park Falls, WI 54552 715/762.0036 [email protected]
http://basineducation.uwex.edu/upperchip/

Kris,

USEPA has a long-standing campaign on open trash burning, a major source of air emissions of dioxin. See http://www.epa.gov/msw/backyard/

Bill Carter

Water Quality Monitoring & Assessment MC
165 Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 13087 Austin, TX 78711-3087
Phone: 512-239-6771
Fax: 512-239-4410
[email protected]

If you are planning to survey people about their waste disposal & burning practices, please consider sharing your information with me. We have been having difficulty enforcing current state law to stop unincorporated residents from burning and I am interested in the reasons (beyond the monetary savings) people burn and the motivations that stop them. In personal conversations, I have found some residents that have garbage and recycling service burning cardboard and paper because they have always done so and don't seem to want to understand the air pollution issues.

Marta Keane,

Recycling Program Specialist
Will County Land Use - Waste Services
58 E. Clinton Street, Suite 500 Joliet, IL 60432
815-774-4343
[email protected] 

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency did a survey in 2005. You can find the report at: "http://www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/lc/byburn/MOEABurnBarrelReport.pdf" eudora="autourl">http://www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/lc/byburn/MOEABurnBarrelReport.pdf You can find educational resources at: "http://www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/reduce/burnbarrel.cfm" eudora="autourl">http://www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/reduce/burnbarrel.cfm

Janice Kepka

Environmental Resources Center
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1545 Observatory Drive Madison, WI  53706

Vermont had recently strengthened its anti-burning campaign and increased the fine for burning. You may find useful information and contacts at the following address: http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/wastediv/dontburnvt/index.htm

Angela Shambaugh

Aquatic Biologist
Department of Environmental Conservation Water Quality Division
103 South Main Street, 10N, 1st Floor Waterbury VT 05671-0408
(802)241-3413
FAX (802)241-4537

Check out Grist.org for a recent article on backyard burning in the Ask Umbra column. Might provide some useful background information.

-Nadine

Canter Barnicle Communications
Nadine Canter Barnicle, M.A.
Weybridge, Vermont 05753
P. 802 545-2070
E. [email protected]

http://www.maine.gov/dep/air/compliance/bckyrd.htm http://www.maine.gov/dep/air/compliance/docs.htm Here are some web pages and documents you can download about backyard burning in Maine. We started documenting open burning of trash back in the 1980's by surveying the forest fire wardens that give out permits for open burning. Then did extensive research and modeling that documented the hazards from dioxin in particular - a hot button issue for the past few decades in our state. Our public outreach focused on the health related effects of the smoke - and we asked the town wardens and town office clerks to distribute the information (flyers/posters/guidelines doc) at the local level. Eventually in the late 1990's the legislature finally got the message and banned the open burning of trash (after citizens repeatedly got legislators introducing progressively more restrictive conditions for open burning over a ten year period). We used Environmental Bulletins to notify the local officials of the concerns and new laws. We used flyers, posters and an open burning guidelines brochure to reach the general public. We also used tv psa advertisements for two years prior to the ban and a new one - the first year the ban took effect. You may find the data on dioxin emissions, health effects and such useful to you in your public outreach efforts. Hope it helps!

Best wishes,
Deb Avalone-King
Maine DEP Air Bureau

The Great Lakes states (including Wisconsin) along with the US EPA, the province of Ontario and Environment Canada have an open burning workgroup under the Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy. They have lots of data and outreach experience including burn barrel for rain barrel exchange. Check out the website of the GLBTS here: http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/bns/index.html or the open burning workgroup here: www.openburning.org. The US co-chair of the GLBTS dioxin workgroup (which leads the open burning activities) is Erin Newman of EPA region 5 (chicago). You might also try the Wisconsin Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission as they have worked toward open burning reduction in the Lake Superior basin throught the Lake Superior Binational Program (www.binational.net). Also, on the Canadian side, Bruce Gillies of Environment Canada is the co-chair of the GLBTS open burning workgroup and would be happy to talk with you. [email protected]

hope that helps,
Kate

Kate Taillon
Restoration Programs Officer,
Lake Superior - Programmes de restauration du Lac Superior
Environment Canada, Ontario - Environnement Canada, region de l'Ontario
4905 Dufferin Street Toronto ON M3H 5T4
(t)416-739-5989
(f)416 739-4404
[email protected]