“In the best of all possible worlds, it would be good to reduce irritant exposure whether you had asthma or not,” Graeff said.

His family lives in the country and has bins for recyclables.

“We have found that recycling decreases toxic waste and burning on our acreage with once weekly drop-offs at the Wapello County recycling plant.”

And while inorganics like plastic can release toxins, people who have respiratory illnesses should avoid concentrated exposure even to burning “organics” like yard waste.

“You still don’t want to expose them to [this type of] smoke,” said Wayne. “It could land them in the emergency room.”

Mark Newman can be reached at 683-5358 or by e-mail at mgnewman@mchsi.com.