Hello Again fellow gardeners,
I am 24: inexperienced, but enthusiastic. I have just this year taken over a plot which has had rubbish burned in one corner of it. I have been continually trying to clear the bits of burnt plastic, aluminium cans, paper, what looks like the filling of a cushion or a pillow, etc that is in the soil.
I have gone through the soil carefully and almost all the big bits are gone (Although I still ocasionally find a bottle cap or lumps of melted plastic .etc). However common sense tells me that there are still small particles in the soil, not to mention the seepage of chemicals and so forth.
I am worried that my nearby vegetables will be contaminated and be dangerous to eat. From asking local people, I understand that this place hasnt been used as a bonfire spot for about 2 - 3 years now. It is about 4 feet by 10 feet up against the north wall. The entire plot is 22 feet by 23 feet.
My two questions:
A Are the peas, carrots, potatoes, various lettuces, rhubarb, and onions in the rest of the plot safe to eat?
B Do I need to remove and replace all of the affected area and possibly surrounding areas also with new topsoil? How bad is the fall out from burnt plastic, aluminium etc?
Thanks for reading such a long post,
Best Regards as always
Philip
Welcome to the site, Robo... This is the place for advice, someone will have an answer soon enough. Good luck with the planting :) :) :) :) :)
Hi Robo and welcome,
Could you use pots and planters where there were bonfires? Just for the time being at least until you know how your soil is.
Afraid I cant help with the contamination side of things, but someone will know Im sure.
Thanks. Everything I have read would suggest that burning plastic, and the chemicals that are in everything nowadays (cardboard, paper, etc) will leave toxic compounds in the soil.
Planting in pots is a great idea, I will get onto that tomorrow I think.
Quote from: robototitico on June 12, 2008, 22:47:05
My two questions:
A Are the peas, carrots, potatoes, various lettuces, rhubarb, and onions in the rest of the plot safe to eat?
B Do I need to remove and replace all of the affected area and possibly surrounding areas also with new topsoil? How bad is the fall out from burnt plastic, aluminium etc?
A. Yes everything should be safe to eat.
B. Although removing/replacing the soil is an option if you are concerned there is no real need for it.
In the 2-3 years since the rubbish was burnt there there will of been bioremediation, phytoremediation and mycoremediation processes going on unseen which will all help break down the contaminants in the soil. You can use biostimulation (adding oxygen, phosphorous, nitrogen & carbon) to increase the rate that the bioremediation works.
In your situation it will be a 3 step process:
1. Get the area well dug to aerate the soil increasing the oxygen content.
2. Incorporate lots of organic matter (compost,manure, leafmould etc...) this will add the necessary phosphorous & nitrogen & more microorganisms.
3. Water the area with diluted molasses (available from anywhere that sells horse feed) to add a source of carbon.
That will give the microorganisms in your soil everything they need to break down the contaminants. Similar methods are successfully used to decontaminate areas polluted with toxic or radioactive waste so cleaning up a bonfire site shouldn't be a problem.
I can't see it as being any problem at all. OK, so burning plastic does release pollutants. Most of this ends up in the atmosphere. Anything left which is soluble will leach out in time, or break down. Aluminium burns to aluminium oxide, which is completely unreactive, and does no harm at all. Obviously, don't burn any more plastic, but don't worry about it either.
If it's any help, when we took over our plot the sizeable compost bin at the end had been used by all and sundry as a place to burn rubbish. The soil below looked lovely & crumbly, so we too sifted & dug out all the bits and I grew a selection of veg in bags with the soil. The veg grew as well as normal & tasted fine & we suffered no ill effects. As has already been said, most of the icky stuff breaks down, washes away & gets burnt into the atmosphere & left behind by the plants as they ignore it. There's probably no more contamination in the whole plot that you breath in waiting to cross a busy road, but if you're unsure, try some in bags until you are sure how the plants respond.
Cheers
I put my shed on the bit contaminated by burning all sorts of stuff like wire, paint cans, glass, plastic etc
Hi Robotitico
I wouldn't worry either! Most of the stuff has been burnt and has broken back down and gone into the soil or environment and that was 2 years ago!
I always plant over a bonfire because the area is pretty weed free and the ash is also useful - although the benefits of ash are short lived. I took over a plot which was the burning point for several allotmenteers and there was burnt plastic, bottles, string, wire etc. Pretty much everyhting. I finished burning my hedge over it and planted it up with beans the following year. I am still alive and appear to be well!
Good luck - plant away - I am sure that if we knew how some of our food is grown (that comes from supermarkets and shops) we would or probably should be apalled!
Even vegetabless grown under the flight paths of major airports - I would consider suspect - but everyone seems to be happy about eating these?!! Not so sure that I would be though with all the aluminium and exhaust from planes drifting about!!!!
Still it will probably be considered a huge health benefit when it suits some political party or other! Cynical? Moi?
Old Bird
;D
Thanks everyone for the advice!
If you're still concerned about this area of your plot, why not grow something useful but not edible? Say comfrey, nettles(!) or anything else useful for making nutrient 'teas'.