Problems

Open burning has been the traditional method of disposing garbage by people in Brunei for many years. Today, the public are still not well informed of the location of recycling centres. For people who are unaware of recycling centres, backyard burning is a convenient method of disposing household waste. The resultant ashes can be heaped onto the base of plants as fertiliser, which is one of the other reasons why people use open burning to dispose of waste. However, open burning contributes to smog and air pollution. The cloud of smoke that arises from open burning is unsightly, and even after it disperses, the gases released from the burning persist in the atmosphere. Chemicals, such as dioxin and other pollutants, produced from the burning cause health problems for example asthma, and respiratory illnesses. Open burning also increases the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and contributes to global warming.