RECYCLING organic household waste could be bad for your health. Garbage bins containing separated organic leftovers such as banana skins, potato peelings and apple cores release far higher numbers of potentially harmful bacteria and moulds into the kitchen than those containing mixed garbage, Dutch researchers have found.
Dick Heederik and his colleagues in the environmental and occupational health group at Wageningen University in the Netherlands say that the contaminants include bacteria and moulds known to aggravate common respiratory ailments, such as asthma. Millions of environmentally minded Europeans could be at risk when they dutifully segregate organic materials from their household waste for collection and recycling as compost.
Heederik's team made the discovery after collecting and analysing household dust from 99 Dutch households, some with segregated and some with mixed waste. They decided to carry out the study after complaints from people when segregation was introduced in the Netherlands six years ...
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