Burning rubbish in residential gardens is a polarising activity. Some people consider it to be normal, while others see it as a selfish, anti-social activity that creates pollution. What are the rules around outdoor fires in residential areas?
There are no specific rules about times you can burn rubbish in gardens. However, you cannot risk other’s health or create hazards to others, e.g. reducing visibility on roads. You must also avoid unreasonable inconvenience to others, for example causing the smell of smoke in neighbouring homes.
Can I Burn Household Rubbish On A Bonfire?
While there are no restrictions on bonfire times in law, there are strict controls on pollution. As household waste is almost certainly going to contain a range of materials, it’s highly likely to be illegal to burn in on a bonfire.
Generally speaking, you are limited to burning dry materials, so even garden waste can get you into trouble if it’s wet wood, leaves or grass. Often there are better considerations such as green garden waste collections from the council.
What Time Can I Light A Fire Pit?
Again, a fire pit isn’t considered any differently to a bonfire, so the same rules apply. Times are not restricted in law, it’s more a case of being considerate to neighbours (both domestic and businesses) and making sure you’re only using acceptable fuels.
Always avoid burning materials that generate a lot of smoke, and never burn things like old furniture as they’re almost certainly going to produce toxic fumes.
Why Do Neighbours Object To Bonfires?
If you’re having a bonfire, it’s easy to miss how much smoke is generated, as you’ll probably naturally stand upwind of the flames.
Even if you’re careful about the materials you’re burning, you can soon get the attention of those in neighbouring properties. The smell of smoke is one that some people notice a lot quicker than others, so some neighbours may appear to be fussier than others.
In addition, many people suffer from respiratory conditions such as asthma, so even small reductions in air quality can trigger a serious health emergency.
To have a more controlled fire to burn rubbish, consider using a garden incinerator bin so that the fuel is contained and smoke release is a little more guided.
To revisit the legal considerations, if neighbours can smell the smoke indoors, that could be considered to meet the bar of significant inconvenience as opening a window is likely to make the smell worse rather than better. What’s more, triggering an asthma attack would certainly put you on thin ice legally for being responsible for the bonfire.
While many people think neighbours are unreasonable by objecting to bonfires, they are certainly possible to be considered anti social at best, and in more serious cases could end up landing you with an abatement notice or prosecution.
Can You Be Fined For Garden Bonfires?
While fines are not particularly common from garden bonfires, they are issued. Let’s have a look a couple of recent examples.
Burning A Headboard
A resident in Newcastle used an old bed headboard to start a bonfire, ultimately resulting in a £750 fine. The incident was considered serious enough for a fine due to the potential for highly toxic fumes being released from the fire.
Burning Building Waste
In Cheltenham, a cost of over £7,000 was imposed (comprising a fine and legal costs) on a builder that was accused of burning trade waste. The scale of the fine reflected multiple offences, the burning of business related materials and the risk to health caused.
What’s clear in both of these cases is the focus on what was burnt rather than when it was burnt. This reflects the fact that the law does not focus on restricting the time of bonfires, rather what is fuelling the fire.
Should I Call The Police To Report Illegal Fires?
The emergency services are on hand to deal with urgent incidents, especially when there is a threat to life. That means illegal bonfires may well qualify for a 999 call, so you should use common sense in choosing how to handle them.
What certainly does not qualify for a call on the emergency number is a neighbourhood dispute when the fire is otherwise legal and no harm is likely or expected to anyone.
If you are merely finding a fire irritating, it would be more advisable to use a non emergency number like 101. On the other hand if you suspect the fire will spread to a wider area and become out of control (or already has), then 999 is more appropriate, but ask for the Fire Service rather than the Police. It’s likely that the fire service will ask for Police support if necessary.
What Should You Do Instead Of Burning Rubbish?
As burning rubbish is almost certainly going to have the potential to land you in trouble and could upset the neighbours, what should you do with excess waste?
It’s likely that if you are considering burning rubbish in the first place, you’ve got more to dispose of than will be taken in your regular refuse collections.
Alternative methods of getting rid of waste include house clearances, bulky waste collections and taking the items to the tip.
House Clearance
House clearances are only likely to be a realistic option if your waste is likely to appeal to others, as they are typically subsidised by the resale cost of items taken.
Council Bulky Waste Collections
Bulky waste collections are often limited to a maximum number of items, however this does very between councils. Where they are great is they’re designed for large items that may be hard to transport. Councils typically use large vans for collection for this reason.
Local Tips
Taking waste to your local tip, or Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC), is one of the most common ways to legally rid of excess rubbish. They can usually only be used by residents, commercial waste is not permitted.
Skip Hire
If all else fails, and you’ve got a significant amount of rubbish to deal with, skip hire is a great and versatile place to turn. You can dispose of virtually any waste that’s not hazardous in a skip, and they come in different sizes to suit the amount of waste you’re needing to dispose of.
While skip hire can feel expensive compared to other options, it’s a convenient and fast way to solve the problem. It’s certainly a lot better than burning the waste, and as it’s legal, you don’t run the risk of a fine that’s much bigger than the cost of skip hire.
We all have a responsibility to make reasonable efforts to reduce the amount of waste we’re generating. By re-using items where possible, either ourselves or by gifting useful items for others, and then recycling as much as possible from what’s left, less ends up in landfill.
Burning waste isn’t a good alternative as it’s polluting and potentially harmful to health too. It could also end up getting out of control and needing the attention of the police or fire service (or both), and that could mean they’re unavailable for other emergencies.
Some fire brigades have even taken the step of asking residents not to have garden fires at all, due to rising numbers of call outs in recent years.
