Emptying Organic Rubbish Can Damage Health, Say Doctors

German scientists are warning householders of the health dangers posed by storing organic waste, saying exposure to it, particularly to the molds that develop as the material decays, can cause skin problems and even breathing difficulties.

Harald Morr, a leading pneumologist, who is also chairman of the German Lung Foundation, said studies showed that airborne mold spores from organic waste could lead to allergic reactions, asthma attacks, hayfever-like symptoms and itchy skin lesions.

"Even just opening the lid of a bin containing organic waste can cause mold spores to be stirred up which, if breathed in, can damage the lungs," said Morr. "The more spores breathed in, the worse the repercussions on one's health can be."

These are issues more often associated with environmental pollutants such as vehicle emissions than with a recycling practice that households around the world are being encouraged to adopt. However, as more people do separate their rubbish, concerns about the way organic waste is stored are growing.

In Germany households are now being warned to empty their organic bins more regularly and to wear face masks or hold their breath and keep a distance while dealing with the rotting material.

One of the most common health problems linked to decaying organic matter, say scientists, are aspergillomas - fungal balls that fix themselves inside the lung.

Christian Witt, a professor at the clinic of infectology and pneumology at Charitié hospital in Berlin, said that while healthy people with a strong immune system were less at risk when breathing in fungi and bacteria from decaying matter, transplant patients, people undergoing chemotherapy and those prone to bronchial infections should avoid proximity to rubbish bins altogether. "People with weakened immune systems should avoid contact with moldy rubbish," he said.

Regine Szewzyk, a microbiologist at Berlin's environmental agency, said: "Basically it should be left to healthy people to take the rubbish out."