Aug 24, 2016
Baton Rouge - The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality encourages residents affected by the recent flood to refrain from open burning of debris.
“It is illegal to burn solid waste,” LDEQ Secretary Dr. Chuck Carr Brown said. “We are in contact with local law enforcement officials in parishes and municipalities, and we have advised them to watch for this activity. Not only is this kind of burning illegal, it can release harmful substances into the air that will affect not only the person doing the burning, but that person’s neighbors and even people farther away.”
Examples of open burning include: using a burn barrel, burning yard debris, burning construction or demolition debris, burning hazardous waste such as oil, household products and other chemicals.
LDEQ advises those directly impacted from the recent flood to place their debris into categories near the curb to help expedite the waste removal process.
Examples of materials that may need special disposal or recycling include electronics, batteries, computer hardware, paint, cleaning products, solvents, and lawn and garden products.
Segregate all wastes generated into six categories:
- Household trash. Normal household trash and bagged debris of any kind will not be picked up as part of debris collection. This will be collected on your normal garbage removal schedule.
- Vegetative yard waste (tree limbs, leaves, etc.)
- Household chemicals, paint, herbicides, pesticides, caustic and flammable liquids (keep these items separated and in their original containers)
- White goods (refrigerators, washers, dryers, stoves and similar appliances)
- Electronic appliances (computers, laptops, televisions, stereos, etc.)
- All other solid, nonhazardous wastes/debris (building materials, furniture, etc.)
Where possible, mark containers clearly before placing them out for disposal, and ensure that all food is removed from freezers and refrigerators before placing them curbside. Be sure to secure doors on refrigerators, ice boxes, dishwashers, dryers, ovens and other white goods to keep children and animals from getting trapped.