Guy Fawkes’ Night is a calendar highlight but, the Environment Agency (EA) warns, if you’re going to celebrate it, go to an organised event rather than risk being a “bonfire bandit”.
As well as the safety risks caused by bonfires, they have an impact on the climate and, if the wrong materials are burned, can harm wildlife, the environment and human health.
The only materials that should be used in bonfires are dry, untreated and unpainted wood, along with small amounts of paper or cardboard. Using wet wood creates smoke which can spread and cause a nuisance to neighbours, and bonfires can quickly get out of control if not properly managed.
The EA says that anyone intending to have a bonfire at home, shouldn’t use it to dispose of household waste, such as plastic, rubber, glass, oils or metal. The agency continues that these materials could cause a pollution risk to water, air, soil, plants, animals or the countryside and should be disposed of through recycling or household waste collections or at council recycling centres.
Go to an organised community event, where organisers, hopefully, should have followed our guidelines and won’t be causing a hazard.
It also warns that, before lighting a bonfire, you should always check for hedgehogs and other wildlife and don’t allow anyone else to add materials, other than clean, dry, untreated wood. The EA says businesses may use bonfires to burn waste, too but it has also urged them to be aware of what they are burning.
Whether you are a business owner or householder, if paying someone to take waste away, always check they are licensed waste carriers, who will dispose of waste correctly, the EA cautions, as well as the harm and nuisance of burning the wrong kind of waste can cause, the burning of most types of waste is illegal and can carry a fine of up to £50,000.
Kevin Baker of the Environment Agency said: “We want people to have fun on Bonfire Night – but to do so safely and in a way that won’t create a risk to the environment, wildlife and to you and your neighbours.
“The best way of doing that is to stop burning waste altogether and go to a properly organised community event, where organisers, hopefully, should have followed our guidelines and won’t be causing a hazard.”
