Section Ecology and Environmental Protection Preprint version_ Citation: Mihai FC., Banica A., Grozavu., A., 2019. Backyard burning of household waste in rural areas. Environmental impact with focus on air pollution. 19th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference on Ecology, Economics, Education and Legislation SGEM 2019, Conference Proceedings, vol.19 , Issue 5.1 pp. 55-62 BACKYARD BURNING OF HOUSEHOLD WASTE IN RURAL AREAS. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT FOCUSING ON AIR POLLUTION CS III Dr. Florin-Constantin Mihai 1* Lect. Dr., CS III Alexandru Banica 2,3 Prof. Dr. Adrian Grozavu 2 1 Department of Research, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Romania, Corresponding author: mihai.florinconstantin@gmail.com 2 Department of Geography, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Romania 3 Romanian Academy, Iasi Branch, Geography Group, Romania ABSTRACT The paper examines the environmental threats associated with the burning of household waste in open piles across rural communities with a focus on Neamt County (Romania) as a case study of uncontrolled waste disposal practice. This option derived from the lack of efficient municipal waste collection schemes, and on the other hand, it is a traditional disposal route for agricultural wastes besides open dumping on the surroundings. This study estimates the potential amounts of household waste uncollected by formal waste management services to be burnt by rural communities related to regional waste management features and how such bad practice interacts with geographical conditions. The paper performs a quantitative analysis of waste indicators and makes estimations on consequent environmental impact focusing on inventorying air pollutants. The spatial analysis provides an appropriate cartographic representation of the analyzed phenomenon. The conclusions converge towards two main ideas: 1) open burning of mixed household waste could be a significant air pollution source at the local scale, and 2) better rural waste management practices are needed to be implemented in the study area to mitigate environmental and public health threats. Keywords: waste management, open burning, rural areas, air pollution INTRODUCTION Rural areas are prone to uncontrolled waste disposal practices across the globe due to the lack of sound waste collection schemes [1]. The amounts of waste generated by rural communities are frequently managed at the household level through open burning practices or open dumping on surroundings [2]. In Eastern Europe, rural communities struggle to provide reliable waste management services under the EU legislative framework. Rural population coverage for such services is emerging in later years in Romania, but open burning and illegal dumping of waste still prevail across the villages.