# Legality of dropping things into a volcano **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 16, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978 "2014-01-16T17:04:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/1 "2014-01-16T17:04:17Z")
An intriguing idea for a business just occurred to me… but it would hinge on being able to drop various objects into volcanic lava whereupon they would be utterly disintegrated. What legal considerations could possibly impede the plan? Assume the volcano is situated in the most permissive legal jurisdiction, but I would not be disposing of any toxic waste. (You are not my lawyer, I don’t plan to act on this advice, this is all just hypothetical/planning stages at this point). ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/2 "2014-01-16T17:22:49Z")
Who will be your pilot? How are you going to find someone willing to go directly above an active volcano, and to go slowly enough that the trash will land on target? ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/3 "2014-01-16T17:23:44Z")
Seemed to turn out (more or less) OK for Frodo Baggins, so why not? ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/4 "2014-01-16T17:30:38Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > An intriguing idea for a business just occurred to me… but it would hinge on being able to drop various objects into volcanic lava whereupon they would be utterly disintegrated. What legal considerations could possibly impede the plan? Assume the volcano is situated in the most permissive legal jurisdiction, but I would not be disposing of any toxic waste. > > (You are not my lawyer, I don’t plan to act on this advice, this is all just hypothetical/planning stages at this point). If you don’t own the land the lava is on, and don’t have permission from the landowner (which would be some government agency for a park or other public land), then criminal tresspassing, and littering/dumping laws could apply. Also, you could well be sued by the landowner for causing damage to their property (and perhaps just for the tresspassing, too? I don’t know much about that). Assuming you own the land, then I think it’s going to depend on exactly how various landfill regulations are written; pretty sure that taking other people’s household waste and disposing of it on your land (at least enough to make it a business for you) will be considered a landfill, and so you’d be violating all kinds of federal or state landfill permits and regulations (generally,in the U.S. there are going to be minimum federal standards that every state regulation must meet, so going to the most permissive state won’t help a whole lot). Possibly, again depending on how the regulations are written, an environmental agency might make the argument that you’re running an incinerator, which would require air permits. Then, and this is what I know least about, there may be state regulations over any business that handles waste – licenses, regulations and what-not. Finally, disposing of certain things is going to have its own legal issues. Toxic waste (as you already mentioned), but also human bodies, medical waste, potential evidence for legal cases, and probably other things I haven’t thought of. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/5 "2014-01-16T17:32:37Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Who will be your pilot? How are you going to find someone willing to go directly above an active volcano, and to go slowly enough that the trash will land on target? Don’t worry about the implementation, I’m just interested in the legal aspects. But I’ve actually been to a suitable volcano mouth that is walk-up accessible, so I know it’s possible. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/6 "2014-01-16T17:33:56Z")
I understand where you are coming from but trust me, there aren’t that many virgins left. ::sorry:: **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/7 "2014-01-16T17:34:20Z")
Can’t speak for elsewhere but I assume any and all active volcanoes in the US (those openly a-bubblin’ lava) are on government land where dumping your trash for profit is frowned upon. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/8 "2014-01-16T18:28:31Z")
> [@](#): > > I understand where you are coming from but trust me, there aren’t that many virgins left. > > ::sorry:: Why the apology? Are you saying you’re responsible for that state of affairs? ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/9 "2014-01-16T18:31:35Z")
Well, **Chronos** we _are_ talking about **Capt Kirk** here. I think he is probably directly responsible for the plummeting numbers of available virgins. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/10 "2014-01-16T18:34:31Z")
There are always quarries. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/11 "2014-01-16T18:37:26Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Don’t worry about the implementation, I’m just interested in the legal aspects. But I’ve actually been to a suitable volcano mouth that is walk-up accessible, so I know it’s possible. We should walk up to the volcano and throw stuff in it. Come on, you knew someone was going to say that. ETA - Curse you, **Zeldar**! ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/12 "2014-01-16T18:39:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Why the apology? Are you saying you’re responsible for that state of affairs? 😉 **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/13 "2014-01-16T19:06:52Z")
I believe this is what the OP had in mind: [Volcanic Rubbish Incinerator](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq7DDk8eLs8) This particular volcano is in Ethiopia. I don’t know what the laws are there regarding waste disposal/dumping. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/14 "2014-01-16T19:14:27Z")
As for throwing stuff out of an airplane - in general, if the country has laws about operating airplanes, you probably need some sort of permission to throw things out. It’s not something generally permitted. ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/15 "2014-01-16T19:23:09Z")
It’d be the same as burning the waste elsewhere and dumping the ashes in the volcano, which could very likely end up spreading those ashes over a vast area (via lava flows, underground magma channels, and, of course, eruptions). I imagine this would be worse than just dumping the ashes in a hoel inthe ground as this would take any toxic chemicals down below groundwater lvl without the natural filtration of soil and such. So, you’d have air pollution regulations that you’d have to follow as well as ash disposal regs. Oh, and aren’t most volcanoes in national parks? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/16 "2014-01-16T19:42:25Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I believe this is what the OP had in mind: > > [Volcanic Rubbish Incinerator](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq7DDk8eLs8) > > This particular volcano is in Ethiopia. I don’t know what the laws are there regarding waste disposal/dumping. Yep, that’s what I had in mind. There are people whose whimsy motivates them to pay to name stars or have their cremains shot into space. I think it’s very possible that people would pay for a certificate that some unwanted object was dropped into a volcano (a picture of an embittered ex-spouse, for example). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/17 "2014-01-16T20:29:44Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > Well, **Chronos** we _are_ talking about **Capt Kirk** here. > I think he is probably directly responsible for the plummeting numbers of available virgins. McCoy: "What IS it with you, anyway? " ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/18 "2014-01-17T01:51:40Z")
> [@Capt\_Kirk](#): > > I understand where you are coming from but trust me, there aren’t that many virgins left. Oh nonsense—there are _plenty_ of ugly fourth-graders in the world. I think the biggest problem the OP is going to have breaking into the waste management business is stepping on the wrong toes. Some boys from Jersey whose last names all end in vowels might want to have a little heart-to-heart with him. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/19 "2014-01-17T07:40:34Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > An intriguing idea for a business just occurred to me… but it would hinge on being able to drop various objects into volcanic lava whereupon they would be utterly disintegrated. What legal considerations could possibly impede the plan? That depends – [do you have a braincloud?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_vs_the_volcano) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978/20 "2014-01-17T07:47:07Z")
The volcano gods will be displeased, and you wouldn’t want _that_ to happen. They will happily accept any remaining virgins you can round up, however. True anecdote: I visited “The Strip” in Los Vegas once, and watched the public volcano show at The Mirage. It must certainly have been an oversight on their part, and I was disappointed, that the show didn’t involve throwing any virgins in. (I mean, it is just a show, after all. The actresses portraying the virgins wouldn’t have to really be virgins.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-dropping-things-into-a-volcano/678978.md?page=2)