Our Neighbors Burn Their Garbage. What’s the Best Way to Report This Without Criminalizing Poverty?

Our neighbors burn their garbage. The stench is nasty, but we're reluctant to report them because they appear to be low-income workers sharing a house. What's the best way to approach this without criminalizing poverty? —Smoked Out

I've always felt that a very underrated course of action for dealing with problems of this nature is to do nothing.

For example, you could simply accept the fact that two or three times a month your house will be wreathed in inky clouds of oily smoke, and resolve to be more appreciative of those days when you family isn't choking on toxic household waste fumes.

Still, as tempting as it is to replace the answer portion of all future columns with the slogan "Have Another Drink and Forget About It," I get that most readers want actionable intelligence, not passive stupidity.

First, while it's not illegal to burn household waste in Oregon statewide, the Department of Environmental Quality does forbid it in many areas, including all but a few tiny scraps of Portland.

If you happen to be in one of these areas at a time of year when there isn't a burn ban, and you have a fire extinguisher and an open burn permit, and you promise not to walk away before the fire is completely out, and it's two or more hours before sunset (swear to God), you can burn your trash. Have fun, you maniac!

In the admittedly unlikely event your neighbors are fulfilling all those conditions, Smoked, you may have to sack up and deal, as above. But there's probably a better solution, with a clear villain we can hate without guilt: the landlord.

In the city of Portland, the property owner is required to have, and pay for, trash service in his or her own name. Some rental agreements may say different, but if so, such a clause is not enforceable within city limits.

If your neighbors are burning household trash because they can't pay for garbage service, it's their landlord's fault. He can increase their rent by the amount of the trash bill, but it's his responsibility, even if the tenants are behind on the rent. Drop a dime on him.