Dioxins & why you dont want to be burning plastic
Can you burn plastic? Well it never burns easily – it melts and bubbles. It will burn eventually but you have to keep heating it – click here if you want to know why.
But if you do try to set fire to plastic it gives off a terrible smell at least in my experiance — as a child playing round the back of the derelict garages I hasten to add.
But is it bad for you?
The smell according to the naked scientist could be anything
It could be just a simple hydrocarbon, or it could contain cyanides, or PCB’s, or lots of other substances. Without knowing what the plastic was (including what additives might have been incorporated), it would be difficult to know what are the likely volatiles it would create…. volatiles given off from plastics in house fires are a major cause of death.
The everyman opinion varies dramatically see the guardian debate
So the answer is a tricky one – aren’t they all. It really depends what plastic you are talking about
Apparently, its ok to burn polythene. In fact it is so cloesly related to oil and if reprocessed as briquettes can make a very efficient fuel and there are plans afoot to use it as such in India. For more details go to ifenergy.
Personally I wont be trying this at home because other kinds of plastic are not so easily burnt. Halogenated plastics, those that are made from chlorine or fluorine are problomatic.
According to Wikipedia
Halogenated plastics include:
Chlorine based plastics:
Chlorinated polyethylene (CPE)
Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC)
Chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSPE)
Polychloroprene (CR or chloroprene rubber, marketed under the brand name of Neoprene)
PVC
Fluorine based plastics:
Fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP)
Dioxins are unintentionally, but unavoidably produced during the manufacture of materials containing chlorine, including PVC and other chlorinated plastic feedstocks.
Burning these plastics can release dioxins.
Dioxin is a known human carcinogen and the most potent synthetic carcinogen ever tested in laboratory animals. A characterization by the National Institute of Standards and Technology of cancer causing potential evaluated dioxin as over 10,000 times more potent than the next highest chemical (diethanol amine), half a million times more than arsenic and a million or more times greater than all others.
IN CONCLUSION I WONT BE BURNING PLASTIC ON MY BONFIRE
But is it safe to burn in waste disposal units? Incinerators I mean?
Well the debate rages – the following posts illustrate the differences in opinion.
Want to cut down on more of your plastic rubbish? – you can find other plastic free products with the A-Z plastic free index
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or check out the flickr group
More Photos or pictures of plastic pollution on google
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Recent Comments
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June 2, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Well how little you know. Take a good read and if unsure take a very good look at the 3 independent reports that debunk your comments. Obviously you are unfamiliar with the range of plastics and their properties as well as technology that can reduce the burn below that of Natural Gas. With your comments it would be assumed you suggest that Natural Gas should also be curtailed? Just guessing but Vegans are great people except they never intake the correct proteins and bark their superiority of health to everyone. Burning plastics, including dirty plastics (up to 16% excepting PVC) is quite safe if done correctly in respect to any other burning of fossil fuels or otherwise. If you can beat the emissions standards let everyone know and if not well, beats spreading plastic granules in road beds where it is never removed, oh at least for 4 thousand plus years.
December 5, 2011 at 12:07 pm
you should never been so agressive when debating a point – no one will listen…
December 15, 2011 at 4:03 am
thanks for dropping by
June 3, 2008 at 9:19 am
The information up here is from Wikipedia should you care to challenge it. It is backed up by a range of groups from public information posts advising farmers not to burn plastic etc in backyard fires to less nuetral organisations such as Greenpeace.
Burning plastic waste correctly or otherwise has long been a concern for many including the waste disposal industries as illustrated in their redesign of facilities to accomodate difficult products. Wether they can do so safely is still being debated by numerous concerned individuals. I put in links to two posts that illustrate the different sides of the argument. One of which was yours. Please note that I did not comment on the issue.
And while the new incincerators may be able to burn plastic waste safely, many waste disposal facilities in many countries do not have that capacity. Many communities as I sure you already know rely on backyard bonfires to get rid of waste.
You seem to be guessing that I am a vegan and suggesting that my lack of meat protein some how affects the information I am conveying. A remarkable argument and I would very much like to see your research prooving that point re vegans that is. In my case you dont have to guess – the most cursery perusal of my blog would show that I do eat meat – just not meat that comes wrapped in cling film.
November 8, 2008 at 8:50 am
-air emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, chlorine, dioxin and fine particulates
-emissions of greenhouse gases of CO2 and nitrous oxide (N2O)
-ash which remains after incineration needs to be disposed of and can be toxic
THATS WAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU USE INCINERATORS
January 5, 2009 at 8:20 am
Keep burning plastic. It tastes good… The smell is beautiful. It’s completely SAFE!
The government guarantees it is as safe as our vaccines or apples or anything else regulated. America is the safest country to live in. Our government cares about our health and well being.
God bless America and keep burning plastic! It heats up better than wood or paper anyway and can help start a fire better for inside your home.
Vote for Obama!
~Jeff Eller
November 15, 2009 at 7:50 pm
your a fucking ignorant naive idiot…
September 29, 2011 at 1:03 pm
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA wow your dumb
April 15, 2009 at 5:21 pm
The topic is quite trendy in the net at the moment. What do you pay attention to while choosing what to write ?
April 16, 2009 at 7:22 am
I try to find differnt views to balance the arguement – I am learning as I go
March 3, 2010 at 6:08 pm
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April 11, 2010 at 10:40 pm
There is a big need for more websites that talk about the harmful effects of burning plastic bags. DIOXIN may harm not only the idiots that sit there burning the plastic bags, but it also is harmful to others, who happen to be in the vicinity of where the plastics are being burned. Not to mention, if you’re doing it outside and allowing the chemicals to drop down to the ground, you are more then likely contaminating the soil where these toxins fall. Most plastic bags are made of human manufactured oils, and when these oils are caused to burn, DIOXIN is released into the air. That stuff causes many harmful side-effects.
So then, Why have I seen at least three Youtube videos of teen boys burning plastic bags? To me that’s almost like watching these boys slashing their veins in front of the Youtube camera. And these boys are giggling their butts off like those retarded characters from “Bevis and Butthead”. There is NOTHING funny about this stuff! Plastic makes noises when it melts. But it’s hardly funny. If they want to amuse themselves with funny noises, why not just lock themselves in a room and make fake farting sounds with their mouths, instead? These uneducated, retards are exactly the types of people that the FDA
targets. It probably started with their Mom and Dad, who consumed everything approved by the FDA, thus everything toxic. It caused slight mental retardations in them which they passed onto these kids. But as these kids were growing up, they also consumed all the stupidity causing toxins that FDA keeps shoving down everyone’s throat. It’s no wonder they are so highly retarded! This is the sad future of America.
July 26, 2010 at 3:29 am
you have a good argument but calling anyone a ‘retard’ practically nullifies your credibility. i suggest using the word ignorant instead of ‘retarded’
June 8, 2010 at 1:27 pm
My neighbor burns plastic garbage, I can smell it when he does. It is quite infuriating to know it could contain dioxin and be more lethal than arsenic. if you were to come in contact with even minute concentrations you would be in danger of serious health risks. We’re talking about 100 parts per billion, maybe less…
June 11, 2010 at 5:06 pm
yuck…
July 18, 2010 at 8:57 pm
i have a landlord that brings his garbage bags full of allsorts of plastics,cans,paper,once found small paintcan,and he stuffsit in a homemade topload stove that sits in the living room of this apt.house.Now the landlord has a buddy to help burn the **** and its been choking,alot in the winter.I replaced the exhustpipe,since it hade holes allover it and asked for it to be stoped,almost lost my room over it,and yet it continues.what should i do?the buddy keeps saying,what are ya going ta do about it.Who can be turned to for help in stoping it whithout the loss of my room?the buddy is trying to run me off so it can be unchallanged,the manager is in onit aswell,people are scared of losing there rooms if they standup against the burning.
July 19, 2010 at 10:04 am
sorry to hear that – I hope you can resolve this problem.
September 2, 2010 at 5:52 pm
Hello. I am a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya, and I am working with environmental conservation. Here, people burn their trash and sometimes that trash is plastic (people also cut the nearby trees to burn and make charcoal to sell, but that’s another issue).
Without access to a massive incinerator, what would you suggest for plastic waste disposal?
September 3, 2010 at 2:04 pm
well that really is the problem – there is no easy way to dispose of plastic and, unless you can be sure what is in the plastic you are burning, burning can be a lethal solution as it releases dioxins – a powerful carcinogen. The best solution is to reduce the amount of plastic waste created – I know – easier said then done … and that why I boycott the filthy stuff
May 9, 2011 at 11:15 am
Burning plastic is like inviting disasters to you, your family, the society and humanity as a whole.
It pollutes the air, water, soil and our food supply. Everybody please keep away from burning plastics. Save yourselves, your loved ones, the world at large from cancer to global warming.
thank you
May 31, 2011 at 8:42 am
Thnaks for dropping by – I agree with you – its dangerous and a huge waste of resources. In short I dont like it.
August 24, 2011 at 2:56 pm
So much informative! I gain much knowledge!
December 31, 2011 at 3:53 am
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January 24, 2012 at 12:10 am
incinerators do not hold in gas, so it is not safe to burn plastic. Only in a safely engineered recycle plant, as long as any odors or gasses caused by melting the plastics are withheld from public air.
February 16, 2012 at 3:41 pm
I have a neighbor who burns his trash in one of those outdoor “wood burners” that heats his home. It makes me cringe and cry every time I see the blue-green-brownish clouds of poison spreading over our hillside where my animals are grazing. Then it comes toward our house and over to our other neighbors as far as the eye can see. I knew it was bad, but I didn’t know it was THIS bad….puluting our soil and water too! And we moved out to the country to be in a healthier enviorment. I know that he has no clue what he is doing. That is why I am searching for info to print out and share with him in as kind of a way as I can, when on the inside I am so fureous I want to blow up his wood furnace!!!!! Thanks for the enlightenment.
February 21, 2012 at 1:36 pm
I am sorry to hear that. Perhaps your neighbour is not aware of the potential dangers. After all plastic has been sold to us all as a cheap and safe product and disposing of it is difficult. Maybe he sees this as a necessary evil. However with some good info on the problem you may be able to convert him. Good luck and try to avoid explocives and furnaces.
March 27, 2012 at 9:32 am
Burning plastic is like inviting disasters to you, your family, the society and humanity as a whole.
Never a truer word said!
March 27, 2012 at 8:49 pm
with you there x
May 25, 2012 at 1:27 pm
FIRE CAUSING ( BURNED PLASTIC) SMOKE FUMES & CYANIDE:
I don’t know much about most of what you all are talking about, but just a piece of info I learned yesterday from a Sr Fire Investigator, here in Henderson, NV, who came out to my house yesterday (5/23/12 @ about 4 am) to investigate a fire in my home. It started from an electrical 3-plug plastic outlet adapter made of plastic. As I was putting out the fire of this burning plastic adapter, I breathed in it’s smoking chemical fumes… He mentioned that many are manufactured with plastics that contain cyanide. He says it’s no surprise that I say I am feeling like a severe asthmatic with a hoarse throat, cough and deep nasty phlegm that has a strange taste to it. I’m also very tired, have a headache, some confusion, very sore eyes, and may go get an XRay of my lungs if I continue to feel worse tomorrow. When I read up a bit on cyanide, I learned that in WWI it was used as a chemical weapon!! I also learned it was effective because of it being a lethal, fast-acting poison. Just thought I’d share.
FYI: GET RID OF THOSE ADAPTERS THAT TURN ONE OUTLET INTO 3 OUTLETS!! THE CHIEF FIRE OFFICER SAID TO USE THE SAFER POWER STRIPS WITH SURGE PROTECTORS… THE ONES RECOMMENDED FOR COMPUTERS.