Burning Plastic: A Hazard

As a child, I get fascinated when I burn plastic as it produces attractive colourful flames. My father saw me one day and advised me against doing so. He explained,” Burning plastic is very damaging for our environment. When burnt at temperatures below 500 degrees F, many more cancerous dioxins are released along with other poisonous gases.” “Some people think that burning plastics in wood stoves. furnaces. or in open tires is better than burying plastics in landfills. But this practice produces a lot of pollution and health hazards that cannot be ignored.” I learnt, burning plastics with paper and other materials mixes the complex chemicals on them and release them into the atmosphere or ground. These then enter the bio-systems, ultimately getting deposited into human cells and tissues causing allergies and cancer. I have now understood the hazards well and feel we all should segregate our waste and dispose of plastic refuse at bins for recycling or regulated burning.