The environmental authorities call on the citizens to refrain from burning tires for bonfires on Easter night. Specialists warn that the substances emitted in the atmosphere when tires are burned pose a real danger to the environment and the people’s health, IPN reports.

In the past, they used wood for Easter bonfires. Now the people burn mainly tires. According to the Environment Agency, the tens of substances produced as a result of burning are very noxious, carcinogenic, and can spread on very large areas. Tire burning can also lead to fires close to houses or forests.

Under the Contravention Code, the pollution of atmospheric air is punished with a fine of 1,200 to 1,800 lei in the case of private individuals and of 10,500 to 15,000 lei in the case of legal entities, with or without ban on carrying out a particular activity for a period of six months to a year.

Regulations that define the requirements concerning the collection, reuse and recycling of used tires took effect recently and the producers and importers of tires are now obliged to implement the Extended Producer Responsibility approach.