Dear neighbours, friends, all our relations! We noticed recently that someone was looking for a burn barrel.

We want to let people know that if they burn garbage in barrels, wood stoves or anywhere, they are poisoning themselves and every other living thing, so no offence is intended as we offer a friendly, helpful lecture.

As activists, we’re very concerned about climate change among other things.

As neighbours, we wouldn’t want to live downwind of the foul smell of burning garbage, nor would any other living being, including a tree!

We have found we can live very well without a burn barrel, knowing that everything that comes into our homes will either be recycled or properly disposed of as garbage.

Burning plastic creates an extremely toxic chemical called dioxin (a potent carcinogen), so please reconsider your options carefully.

Germany has banned the use of PVC in construction after a fire contaminated firefighters and turned the burn site into a toxic waste site.

There are always more Earth-friendly ways to dispose of unwanted materials — for example:

All paper and cardboard can be recycled, (except plastic-coated material). Cardboard is excellent water-retaining mulch. And snakes and other reptiles love to hide under it.

All unwanted plant material or wood waste can be used to create berms.

Most types of plastic container as well as tetra-packs and milk cartons are accepted by our recycle station.

Any unwanted items such as used styrofoam meat trays or used Pampers are truly garbage, and should be properly disposed of in a landfill.

So please forgive the friendly lecture, and try to inform yourself about planet-friendly ways to live.

There’s a great movie — The Age of Stupid — coming to The Fritz at Central Hall soon. It’s about us, and we’ll be there.

Chris Dixon and

Jan Slakov,

Salt Spring