Aug 23, 2026 · 7 min · 8 segments
Burn, baby, burn... garbage inferno! Before wheelie bins, Aussies used to burn all their rubbish... in their own backyards. This episode will answer questions like: - How common were backyard…
Most incinerators back then were built from bricks or old metal drums, and they were where you'd dump household rubbish, then burn it.
Well, their backyard would probably be really stinky then.
I wouldn't feel that safe if everyone's just burning stuff around, because everything could just catch on fire.
I think everyone would probably be really upset because they would have to stay in their houses, because if they went outside, it would just stink.
That's what I thought, but turns out lots of people in the '80s liked their stinky backyard burners.
More than 80% of people want to retain the right to burn rubbish like this, and believe it or not, the latest figures available show that more than 100,000 tons of rubbish a year, including domestic waste, garden clippings, and autumn leaves, go up in people's backyards.
[static]
"Look at the size of mine, will you? My incinerator's bigger than Robbo's for sure.
It can burn way more stuff than Gary's." But those who cared about the Earth realized something had to change, especially when the local radio station started giving daily updates on air pollution levels in the city.
[static]
Most incinerators back then were built from bricks or old metal drums, and they were where you'd dump household rubbish, then burn it.
Well, their backyard would probably be really stinky then.
I wouldn't feel that safe if everyone's just burning stuff around, because everything could just catch on fire.
I think everyone would probably be really upset because they would have to stay in their houses, because if they went outside, it would just stink.
That's what I thought, but turns out lots of people in the '80s liked their stinky backyard burners.
More than 80% of people want to retain the right to burn rubbish like this, and believe it or not, the latest figures available show that more than 100,000 tons of rubbish a year, including domestic waste, garden clippings, and autumn leaves, go up in people's backyards.
[static]
"Look at the size of mine, will you? My incinerator's bigger than Robbo's for sure.
It can burn way more stuff than Gary's." But those who cared about the Earth realized something had to change, especially when the local radio station started giving daily updates on air pollution levels in the city.
[static]
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