Environmental guidance for your business in Northern Ireland & Scotland
You must not cause or allow a chimney or bonfire on your site to emit dark smoke. There are some exemptions from this requirement, but only if your installation won't cause emissions that could damage health or cause a nuisance.
The darker the smoke, the more polluting it tends to be. Smoke darker than a specified shade of grey is officially classified as 'dark smoke'.
A Ringelmann chart is used to define dark smoke. The chart has five shades of grey with 0 being clear and 5 being black. Smoke is considered 'dark' if it has a shade of 2 or darker.
The Ringelmann chart: British Standard BS 2742C
You must prevent the emission of dark smoke from:
Industrial or trade premises include:
Be aware that you cannot use a defence of lack of visual evidence, if you burn materials at night for example. Your local council does not need to see the emissions of dark smoke to take action against you. Evidence of burnt materials that could cause dark smoke, such as steel reinforcement from tyres, or plastic residues is sufficient.
If you burn waste in an appliance, such as a furnace or boiler, you will usually require a pollution prevention and control permit, waste management licence or a waste exemption.
You must not burn waste in the open, such as on a bonfire, unless you have a waste management licence or a registered waste exemption that covers this activity.
If you have a permit, licence or waste exemption you must comply with all of its conditions.
See our guideline: Waste incineration
Environmental Protection UK: Air pollution sources
UK Air - DEFRA air information resource: Air quality forecasts and latest measured air quality
Northern Ireland Air: Air quality forecasts and latest measured air quality
Air Quality in Scotland: Air pollution levels and forecasts
Causes and effects of air pollution
Business benefits of improving air quality
What you must do to prevent air pollution
Prevent dark smoke
Boilers and furnaces: environmental authorisations
Boilers and furnaces - chimney height requirements
Protecting neighbours from air pollution
Groundwater in Northern Ireland, DAERA have produced a leaflet to raise awareness about this untapped resource
EU Exit, EU Exit useful information
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