The environmentally harmful nature of fireworks

This is how fireworks are damaging the climate and the health of humans and animals.

New year is just around the corner. Most people will make some firework today and let the sky light up in beautiful, sparkling colours. Nevertheless, the magical fireworks have a damaging effect on the environment as well as on humans and animals.

In order that fireworks appear in diverse colours and with various effects, they contain numerous of chemicals. These can consist of potassium nitrate, charcoal, sulphur, copper chloride, calcium chloride, barium chloride and strontium carbonate which are all toxic for the environment. Still, the sale of fireworks is consistently increasing. In 2020 only, over 404.5 million pounds of fireworks were purchased. But why are those magically, beautiful, shimmering sparkles now so damaging to the environment?

The most obvious reason is because when fireworks are being lightened up, they produce smoke and gases that consist of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen. All these three are components of the greenhouse gases and therefore add up to an increased amount of them which contributes to the global warming. Additionally, in the processes of burning fireworks, sulphur dioxide is being created. This chemical does not only have a harming effect on our breathing ability, but it can also damage trees and add to acid rain in high concentrations. Then there are the metal salts that create the colour in fireworks. The problem with these components is that they do not completely dissolve when fireworks are being burned, but they stay as aerosols in the air. This leads to air pollution and can negatively affect our health when we inhale it. Equally, already low concentrations of it can toxify water sources and therefore harm marine life.

Besides the harmful chemicals, fireworks are additionally a source of extreme noise. This can especially affect pets, farm- or even wildlife animals. Because of the loud noises and bangs, that fireworks cause and that are even lounder than a gunshot, they feel frightened and stressed. In some cases, this can even lead to panic attacks and long-term behavioural problems and health concerns such as chronic stress, phobias, decreased life expectancies and loss of hearing.

On top of that, fireworks contribute to the global waste problem. This is because of the packaging and other materials that rockets are coming with and that people are often leaving behind once they finished burning all their fireworks. What is being left are cardboard, wood, clay and plastic of which some are not recyclable.

Eco-friendlier and also safer options to regular fireworks could therefore be battery fireworks or fireworks that do not have sulphur propellants and do not produce a high amount of smoke. Nevertheless, the most sustainable, environmentally friendly, and cheapest option is to not buy any fireworks at all. Instead, you could join some public displays or have some videos of fireworks playing in the background on a screen while spending some quality time with your family and friends, thinking back to all the exciting memories of the past year, and talking about expectations and wishes for the new year.

Either way, I wish you a wonderful start into a new, adventurous year. And who knows, maybe for the next year a new challenge for yourself could be to keep on creating a sustainable and eco-conscious lifestyle, start experimenting with new approaches and dare to get out of your comfort zone to find out how you can help the environment.

Sources:

Fuchs, H., "New Year's Eve: Are fireworks harming the environment?", DW, December 29, 2017, https://www.dw.com/en/new-years-eve-are-fireworks-harming-the-environment/a-41957523, accessed 30 January 2021

Ngyuen, K., "Are Fireworks Bad for the Environment? This Is the True Environmental Impact", June 28, 2021, https://brightly.eco/fireworks-environmental-impact/, accessed 30 January 2021

Noss, H. L., "How Do Fireworks Affect The Environment?", Sustainability Nook, December 12, 2021, https://sustainabilitynook.com/are-fireworks-environmentally-friendly/, accessed 30 January 2021

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