Burning waste exemptions and low risk activities
What you must do
You must have the correct permissions in place before you burn waste. If you burn waste as a fuel or for disposal you may need an authorisation from your environmental regulator.
Exemptions in Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, depending on the type and quantity of waste that you burn, and your method of burning, you may qualify for an exemption from waste management licensing.
Waste exemptions are for specific low risk waste activities and so have fewer controls placed on them compared with permits and licences. You may need to register waste exemptions with your environmental regulator.
If you have a waste exemption, you must comply with all of the exemption objectives. You must also ensure that your activity does not:
- endanger human health or risk harm to water, air or soil
- risk harm to plants or animals
- cause a noise or odour nuisance
- adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest
Exemption for burning waste in the open
You may qualify for an exemption to burn certain plant tissue and untreated wood in the open if:
- you burn the waste at the place where it was produced
- you burn no more than 10 tonnes in a 24-hour period
See the page in this guideline: Controls on burning waste in the open.
Exemption for burning waste in an incinerator
You may qualify for an exemption to burn certain plant tissue and untreated wood in an incinerator or a waste combustion plant that is exempt or excluded from the Waste Incineration Directive (WID) if:
- you burn the waste at the place where it was produced
- the incinerator has a capacity of less than 50 kilograms per hour
- the waste combustion plant has a total net rated thermal input of less than 0.3 megawatts
This is a paragraph 29 exemption.
Exemption for burning waste in a small appliance
You may qualify for an exemption to burn certain waste as a fuel in a small appliance in Northern Ireland if you burn less than 1 tonne of waste as fuel per hour and the appliance has a relevant PPC permit.
This is a paragraph 5 exemption.
Low risk waste activities in Scotland
In Scotland, most activities that involve burning waste will require an EASR authorisation from SEPA. You may be allowed to burn certain wastes in the open without the need to apply to SEPA for an authorisation, if standard conditions are met.
These activities are classed as low-risk waste activities.
Burning waste wood on campfires and bonfires
Conditions:
- Only burn visibly clean waste wood - this excludes waste wood that has been painted or treated with chemical wood preservatives
- Only burn card and paper in quantities necessary to start the fire
- The size and location of the bonfire or campfire must be appropriate for the even
Burning less than 10 tonnes per day of clean plant matter waste and untreated waste wood in the open at the place where it was produced
Conditions:
- Only burn wastes mentioned in Table 1 of the Position Statement - Low Risk Waste Activities
- No more than 10 tonnes of waste may be burnt in a 24-hour period
- Waste must not be brought from another place for burning
Burning waste trees, plants and associated packaging when a Plant Health Notice has been issued, to prevent the spread of plant diseases
Conditions:
- Only burn waste where required under a Plant Health Notice
- Burning must only take place at the site where the waste is produced or at the dock where the waste is unloaded
- When waste is burned at a dock, it must be burned on a hard standing
- No more than 15 tonnes of waste may be burned in a 24-hour period
Exclusions from the WID
There are some exclusions from the WID. See the page in this guideline on requirements of the Waste Incineration Directive.