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Burning Leaves May Spark Health Problems

Because of the moisture that is usually trapped within leaves, they tend to burn slowly and thus generate large amounts of airborne particulates—fine bits of dust, soot and other solid materials. According to Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources, these particulates can reach deep into lung tissue and cause coughing, wheezing, chest pain, shortness of breath and sometimes long-term respiratory problems.

Leaf smoke may also contain hazardous chemicals such as carbon monoxide, which can bind with hemoglobin in the bloodstream and reduce the amount of oxygen in the blood and lungs. Another noxious chemical commonly present in leaf smoke is benzo(a)pyrene, which has been shown to cause cancer in animals and is believed to be a major factor in lung cancer caused by cigarette smoke. And while breathing in leaf smoke can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat of healthy adults, it can really wreak havoc on small children, the elderly and people with asthma or other lung or heart diseases.

Small Leaf Fires Can Cause Big Pollution Problems

Sporadic individual leaf fires usually don’t cause any major pollution, but multiple fires in one geographic area can cause concentrations of air pollutants that exceed federal air quality standards. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), several leaf and yard waste fires burning simultaneously in a particular locale can cause air pollution rivaling that from factories, motor vehicles, and lawn equipment.

Fallen Leaves Make Good Compost

Purdue University consumer horticulture specialist Rosie Lerner says that composting leaves is the most eco-friendly alternative to burning. Dry leaves alone will take a long time to break down, she says, but mixing in green plant materials, such as grass trimmings, will speed up the process. Sources of nitrogen, such as livestock manure or commercial fertilizer, will also help.

“Mix the pile occasionally to keep a good supply of air in the compost,” she says, adding that a compost pile should be a minimum of three cubic feet and will generate soil conditioner within weeks or a few months, depending on conditions.

What is manure?

Manure is an organic matter that is used to fertile an agricultural land. It provides fertility to the soil. There are three types of manure: Human manure, green manure and animal manure. We use a combined manure of green and animal manure. Our manure is made up of animal faeces, leaves, different types of bacteria, soil and buttermilk. All of this is mixed well with water and stored in a barrel container. Then the complete mixture is stored in the barrel for at least 3-4 days and then poured into a dug ground. Then the remaining soil is placed over the mixture. The mixture mixes with soil and thus makes it fertile. This is the complete process of how we make our manure.

How does manure impact on the community?

For centuries, manure has been recognized as a soil “builder” because of its contribution to improving soil quality. It makes the soil so fertile that makes the crop is easy to grow. It prevents soil erosion and thus saves money of the farmers. But the question is how does it impact on the community? If we burn the waste it creates air pollution which can lead to various diseases and environmental problems, or if we just dump the waste it would be of no use. So making manure not only stops pollution but also helps the farmers. In a country like India, farmers have a very scant amount of money. They tend to buy more advanced and technological machines, pesticides and fertilizers to grow crops, and contains chemicals which isn’t that safe. But using manure, they don’t need any such equipment. The crop is completely organic. This saves money and also the crop is organically grown.

Future perspective!

By the next 20-30 years, we imagine that the environment has revived back with its greenery. Every day around 5 million tons of biodegradable waste is produced! And most of the waste isn’t put to good use, it’s either burnt or dumped and by burning it produces several harmful gases which aren’t good for health. But if people could actually start using this waste and put it to good use, we can decrease the amount of 5 million tons to at least 2 million! This could be a great change in the world. Not only the waste is put to good use but economically it can help a lot to the farmers. We see that many people get food infections, they are diseased or are sick. This is mostly because the fruits, vegetables, herbs, etc., are grown chemically. They have pesticides and fertilizers sprayed on them and aren’t organically grown. If people could use leaves, wastes, animal faeces to grow plants, all of these problems could go away. The world won’t face any of these situations. Pandemics won’t happen, the death rate will decrease, more trees to be cut down to make hospitals will not happen. Thus that land can be used to make manure and to grow crops. Well, good things take time and we hope that not just our next generation but also the gen-z can see this change.