Burning Trash Worsens Air Pollution Worldwide

Trash may not just be causing problems for our environment; it could also be affecting our air. Researchers have found that unregulated trash burning across the globe is pumping far more pollution into the atmosphere than shown on official records.

The emissions from burning trash in open fires often go unreported to environmental agencies. This means that they're not incorporated into policy making and can go unregulated. Needless to say, this can be dangerous as carbon dioxide levels continue to rise.

That's why scientists decided to track these emissions. In order to estimate these emissions, the scientists compared population figures and per capita waste production with official tallies of trash disposal for each country in the world. In the end, they estimated that about 1.1 billion tons, or 41 percent, of total waste generated worldwide is burned in unregulated fires each year. The scientists also analyzed consumption patterns to estimate the type and amount of pollutants from the fires.

"Air pollution across much of the globe is significantly underestimated because no one is tracking open-fire burning of trash," said Christine Wiedinmyer, lead author of the new study, in a news release. "The uncontrolled burning of trash is a major source of pollutants, and it's one that should receive more attention."

In the end, the researchers found that as much as 29 percent of human-related global emissions of small particulates come from these fires. In addition, 10 percent of mercury and 40 percent of a group of gases known as polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAHs) come from the fires. PAHs in particular have been linked to health impacts, such as decreased lung function, neurological disorders, cancer, and heart attacks.

The findings reveal that trash burning is a significant source of pollution around our globe. The next step is to now track the pollutants to determine where they're having the greatest impacts.

"This study was a first step to put some bounds on the magnitude of this issue," said Wiedinmyer. "The next step is to look at what happens when these pollutants are emitted into the atmosphere-where are they being transported and which populations are being most affected."

The findings are published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.