The Editor,
Monday, October 6 2008
I was recently contacted by a resident on Gabriola Island who was very concerned about the amount of garbage burning being carried out by local residents using burn barrels. There is currently no local Bylaw in place through the RDN to deal with this type of activity on Gabriola Island.
While many residents may feel that they’re doing the right thing by burning their wastes to keep them out of landfills, they are quite mis-informed. The toxic compounds that are released as a result of the low temperature burning of things like plastics, deposit right where people live and can have far reaching health consequences.
The resident that I spoke to was wondering if I would follow-up with the Gabriola Sounder in an effort to get the word out to residents on the problems with garbage burning. If you are interested in writing an article on this issue I’d be pleased to provide my 2 cents worth over the phone so call me anytime.
Some good background information can be found at burnbarrel.org. Thanks.
Earle Plain, Air Quality Meteorologist
Ministry of Environment, Vancouver Island Region
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