Expressing concern that on-farm burning of agricultural waste could more than double the UK's emissions of dioxins, the UK Environmental Services Association ESA has written to the Minister of State (Elliot Morley MP) at DEFRA calling for a ban on open air burning of waste on farms.

"In response to a Parliamentary Question from Guildford MP Ms Sue Doughty, the Minister suggested that burning this waste is responsible for 14% of the UK's dioxin emissions. This would be bad enough and represents 2,500% more than the dioxins released from all the UK's regulated energy from waste facilities," comments ESA's Chief Executive Dirk Hazell.

"However, our own calculations based on research undertaken by officers of the United States Environmental Protection Agency shows that if 7.5% of the waste burned on-farm is PVC, the dioxin emissions from on-farm burning would be 900% higher than the figure stated by the Minister, more than doubling the UK's total official dioxin emissions," he added.

"This serious environmental problem arises when PVC is burned in an environment where the temperature and flow of oxygen cannot be controlled. The problem is solved when energy is extracted from PVC in a controlled and regulated environment. To safeguard human health and the environment, the Government must ban on-farm burning of plastics and similar materials," he concluded