Burning dry garden waste is not automatically illegal in the UK, but the rules on what you burn and how you burn it still apply. Newcastle City Council also limits a home bonfire to dry garden waste from your own property .
What you must never burn
Bristol City Council's guidance keeps tyres, cables, plastics, rubber, painted items and household rubbish off the fire. You can't get rid of household waste in a way that will cause pollution or harm to people's health. This includes burning it. Burning household waste therefore falls outside the garden bonfire question altogether.
Business waste and permits
The Environment Agency treats burning waste to avoid disposal charges as waste crime. Newcastle City Council says a bonfire used to dispose of commercial or construction waste is illegal. All disposal of construction or demolition waste by burning requires a permit from the Environment Agency, and one cannot be issued for a dwelling or for open burning. If you run a gardening or building business, the rules are stricter than those for a homeowner.
When a bonfire becomes a nuisance
A bonfire can cause trouble even when the material is legal to burn. A bonfire may be classed as a statutory nuisance if it is a regular or ongoing problem that interferes substantially with neighbours' well-being, comfort or enjoyment of their property. Once smoke is found to be causing a statutory nuisance, the council must issue an abatement notice. Smoke is also a road safety matter. You could be fined if you light a fire and allow the smoke to drift across a road, causing a danger to traffic.
Alternatives and a checklist before you burn
Councils offer other routes for garden material. Garden waste can be disposed of using a garden waste collection, bulky waste collection or a household waste and recycling centre. The Environment Agency also says chipping and using green waste for mulching is preferable to burning, unless the green waste is infectious, invasive or difficult to remove. If the job is too large for your bin, a garden clearance and skip hire category on GetBrent can help you find a firm to take it away.
Before you light anything, work through this checklist:
- Check whether your council's garden waste collection, bulky waste service or recycling centre will take the material.
- Only burn dry garden waste from your own property. Do not burn tyres, cables, plastics, rubber, painted products or household waste.
- Build the fire well clear of buildings, roads, sheds, fences, trees and hedges.
- Do not let smoke drift across a road.
- If you are a business, you need to inform the Environment Agency in advance before burning plant material.
- Ask any clearance or skip company which materials it accepts before you book, and confirm any charges with it directly.
GetBrent helps you find skip hire, rubbish removal and garden clearance firms near you, and you can compare them and contact them direct. If you are in the capital, garden clearance and rubbish removal firms in London are listed by area. Check current prices and acceptance rules with each company before you book.
