Householders cannot dispose of household waste by burning it if it will cause pollution or harm people’s health, while businesses that burn certain plant and untreated wood waste where it is produced need a registered D7 exemption in England.

What householders can and cannot burn

GOV.UK says you cannot get rid of household waste if it will cause pollution or harm people’s health, and that includes burning it. It points to composting and recycling as routes for household and garden waste, and to your council for local collection services. You could also be fined if you light a fire and allow smoke to drift across a road and become a danger to traffic. GOV.UK’s bonfire page does not say which UK nations it covers, and the exemption described below is an Environment Agency scheme for England, so if you live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, check with your council and environmental regulator.

If a neighbour’s bonfire is a nuisance

According to GOV.UK, a council has a responsibility to investigate complaints of smoke and fumes that could be a “statutory nuisance”. It can issue an abatement notice if a neighbour’s bonfire is causing a nuisance, and the neighbour can be fined if they do not follow the notice.

Smoke control areas

GOV.UK explains that in a smoke control area you cannot release smoke from a chimney and can only burn authorised fuel unless you use an appliance approved by Defra, called an exempt appliance. In England you may have to pay a penalty of up to £300 if your chimney releases smoke in a smoke control area, and you can be fined up to £1,000 for buying unauthorised fuel for an appliance that is not approved. Garden bonfires are allowed in smoke control areas but you must follow the rules on bonfires, and outdoor barbecues, chimineas and pizza ovens can be used, although an appliance that uses a chimney on a building roof falls under the fuel rules. Contact the council to find out whether you live in one.

Businesses: the D7 exemption

The Environment Agency’s D7 exemption allows certain waste to be burned on a bonfire at the place it was produced. Examples given are a landscape gardener or farmer burning hedge trimmings and branches where they were cut, a joiner burning untreated wood shavings from making a wooden structure, and a furniture maker burning sawdust from untreated wood. “Untreated” means never preserved, varnished, coated, painted or exposed to chemicals. Householders burning their own garden waste do not need to register the exemption. The waste must match listed codes: plant tissue; sawdust, shavings and cuttings from untreated wood; and waste bark and wood.

D7 limits and conditions

You can burn up to 10 tonnes of waste in any 24-hour period, store up to 20 tonnes of waste intended for burning at any one time, and store it for up to six months to let it dry. You must burn only at the place you produced the waste, outside on open land where smoke and smell will not be a nuisance to neighbours. You cannot use D7 to bring waste from elsewhere to burn on your site, to burn waste in an incinerator for disposal or to burn waste in a boiler to produce heat and power. If you want to burn waste that is not listed, or more than the limits, you need an environmental permit or a different exemption.

Registering, charges and better alternatives

You must register with the Environment Agency through the waste exemption service. D7 has a band 3 compliance charge and there is a registration charge, farmers pay a capped charge for a list of common exemptions, and charities and organisations working only for charitable purposes do not pay and register by phone. You cannot hold more than one D7 at the same site at the same time or register one already registered by another business, and you cannot renew more than one month before the three-year registration ends. The Environment Agency notes that alternatives can be better for the environment, including composting under T23, treating wood and plant matter by chipping or shredding under T6, and burning untreated wood in a small appliance under U4.

FAQs

Do I need to register to burn my own garden waste?

The Environment Agency says householders burning their own garden waste do not need to register a D7 exemption, but the general rules on pollution, nuisance and smoke control areas still apply.

Can I burn treated wood or old furniture?

D7 covers only the listed waste: plant tissue, untreated wood sawdust, shavings and cuttings, and waste bark and wood. Waste that is not on the D7 list needs an environmental permit or a different exemption, and household waste must not be burned if it will cause pollution or harm health.

Does D7 cover Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?

D7 is an Environment Agency exemption. Other nations have their own regulators, so check locally.

Bottom line

For householders, GOV.UK points to composting and recycling rather than burning, and a bonfire must not cause pollution, danger or nuisance; in smoke control areas the fuel and appliance rules apply. Businesses burning plant and untreated wood waste where it is produced need a registered D7 exemption and must stay within its limits. This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

This guide draws on the following primary sources, current as of 20 September 2026:

• GOV.UK, “Garden bonfires: the rules”
• GOV.UK, “Smoke control areas: the rules”
• Environment Agency via GOV.UK, “D7: burning plant and untreated wood waste where it’s produced”

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