I grew up burning our trash. I grew up very poor in a rural area... everyone around us did the same thing. We had burn barrels. It was particularly fun when we had to get rid of pressured bottles like spray paint cans, hairspray cans, etc... they'd explode and sometimes shoot out. Was fun :)
We also used to dispose of our motor oil in the ground, I guess this was common back then.
Things sure have changed!