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Monday, April 09, 2007 :
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Survey finds 57% of farm families burn their rubbish
ILLEGAL backyard burning has become widespread across the south-west since the introduction of pay-by-weight bin charges, a major new report has found.
Nea
rly half of 1,200 families surveyed in west Cork admitted to burning their rubbish, the report on behalf of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found.
Rural farming households had the highest rate of burning, at 57%. The report’s authors said that people appear to be unaware that burning rubbish was against the law.
The Green Party said the findings raised serious concerns about the possible impact on human and animal health and the food chain.
The party’s Cork South West election candidate Quentin Gargan called for a swift response from the authorities.
“Burning plastic emits dioxins which are known to cause cancer, not just in people who inhale the smoke, but even in people consuming milk or meat from animals grazing in the locality,” he said.
“It is fruitless to fight against waste incinerators around the country if we are going to just burn the rubbish in our fireplaces.”
He called for:
Provision of adequate waste and recycling facilities;
Enforcement of relevant legislation and the setting-up of a dedicated inspectorate to respond to complaints of illegal burning;
Public education.
The study, commissioned by Cork County Council and the Environment Protection Agency, surveyed households in west Cork to assess the impact of the introduction of pay-by-weight charges in 2003 — a €160 standing charge and 23 cent per kilogramme of waste presented for collection.
The report found that:
The amount of waste presented for collection in the Clonakilty sample area has dropped by 45% since charges were introduced;
The average reduction of waste per household was 433kg — a saving of up to €100 per household;
About 8% of households do not recycle regularly;
80% increased their recycling after pay-by-weight charges were introduced;
Those who compost their food waste dramatically reduced their waste costs;
The burning of domestic rubbish is widespread, even in towns, with over 40% of households engaging in it.
Mr Gargan said the different standards of waste services was partly to blame for the rise in illegal burning.
“For example, Kinsale and Innishannon have a doorstep collection service for bottles, cardboard and plastic waste while other towns are still waiting for this service to be rolled out,” he said. “Many remote areas have no waste collection facilities at all, and have to bring waste to the nearest landfill.”
Illegal burning can be reported on a confidential helpline on 1890-335 599.
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