Sometimes we hear about new drug trends or dangerous things kids are trying to get and think, that must be a hoax. It can be hard to tell sometimes, especially since tabloid newspapers and websites are big fans of alarming headlines about drugs, and they don’t always bother to fact check. One example is a series of articles from 2017 proclaiming the “insane new craze” and the “weirdest drug craze yet” – huffing fumes from burning waste bins. Upon investigation, this appears to be one of those cases where a few isolated events somehow got blown up into an epidemic by the media.
A decade ago, an article called Barnsley Calling made the rounds in the United Kingdom. It claimed that teenage gangs were stealing and setting fire to “wheelie bins,” or wheeled trash cans, and then inhaling the toxic fumes. The article claims that it became so bad that local councils were handing out chains and padlocks so people could safeguard their trash. The story most likely wasn’t true to begin with, but last year it resurfaced. It turns out the initial reports about these garbage-huffing teens were spread by word of mouth, and there’s no evidence that any such thing actually occurred.
Still, that didn’t stop Metro and the Mirror, two tabloid papers in the UK, from resurrecting it. According to the Mirror, a (mysteriously unnamed) waste management company claimed to have heard reports from all across Britain of teens burning trash cans. The article states that certain dyes used in the manufacturing of the plastic waste bins can create fumes that will cause people who inhale them to get high. If anything, what you’re going to inhale from burning plastic is hydrogen cyanide, which if you’re lucky will cause weakness, headache, mental confusion, vertigo, fatigue, anxiety, shortness of breath, and nausea and vomiting. Worst case scenario, if it’s a high enough concentration, hydrogen cyanide can kill you in minutes.
The Metro article essentially parroted the claims by the waste management company, adding that claims of bins being stolen from outside of homes and businesses had gone up by 100 percent in a few months. This article links to a page from Bedford Today, which appears to be a local paper for a town of about 80,000, that did at least name the waste company, which is a small enterprise that collects business waste (and therefore probably doesn’t deal much with trash cans outside of homes). Most of the incidents were straight up arson, with police claiming that some of them were probably doing it for “weird drug-related kicks.”
This should go without saying, but whether or not these stories are true, don’t inhale burning trash. According to the EPA, you’ll just be exposing yourself to a variety of toxins that can cause respiratory conditions such as asthma and bronchitis, cardiac arrhythmia (heartbeat irregularities), heart attacks, liver and kidney damage, and cancer.
If you or a loved one need help with quitting drugs or alcohol, consider Asana Recovery. We offer medical detox, along with both residential and outpatient programs, and you’ll be supervised by a highly trained staff of medical professionals, counselors, and therapists. Call us any time at (949) 438-4504 to get started
