To think it's autumnal enough to have a bonfire?

[089ville]

Lots of garden waste to get rid of. There was several wood burners I could smell burning this morning and it's down to 10-11 for the next few nights.

Would you think that's fine for a bonfire? I've covered what I want to burn and the rest of the ground should be wetish so good time to have a fire safely, no?

I love my bonfire. Its the best way to get rid of infested plant material. Fungus and diseased leaves cannot be composted without encouraging the problem back again. I live on a farm away from anyone and am very expert at constructing smoke-free bonfires. The secret is in the layering and dryness of the center core. The fire should leap away quickly straight up (no wind) then any woody stuff in the center will become really hot so you can fork any outside bits to be quickly consumed. When its really hot you can burn wetter stuff but only a little at a time. It should all be over in 30 minutes at the most. People who let wet rubbish smolder all night are the real polluters. The ash from the fire goes back on the garden and is very good for it.

@faysky I agree- there are some things that can’t be collected/taken by the council and we have 3 composters and a home made pile and 2 council bins. They won’t take bindweed so it’s dried and quickly incinerated

That's a good point about weeds. You can't put them in the compost as otherwise when you put the compost on the garden, you get more weeds. I tend to put them in a bag and take them to the tip when the bag is full, but I do burn sticks and branches.

Who burns tyres in their bonfire?? What’s that comment all about?

Tabby my point about BBQs is that the smoke from them, in my experience, doesn’t travel as far as bonfire smoke (and I’m talking about bonfires, not incinerators). I can only smell a BBQ if it’s next door or maybe next door but one (I hate the smell of BBQs and never have them myself). But a bonfire can travel halfway down the street. And there’s always some idiot who think that a lovely afternoon,when half the street has their windows open and washing out, is the perfect time for a bonfire, usually because ‘well, the kids love bonfires!!’ or somesuch bollocks.

Exactly, you only burn dry stuff when it's calm so it goes straight up and if it's cold with windows closed no one would even know it's happening.

Lots of things can't be collected and would take decades to decompose.

I don't know why some people are shocked at the idea of a fire. What do they think all the incinerators in garden centers are there for? It's dry and burns quickly and cleanly then deposits nutrients back into the soil. Rather that the far far worse vehicle emissions from other methods.

A bonfire in a garden centre is very different to a neighbour doing it.

At least you’re waiting until night time op my next door neighbour must have a wood burning aga or something and it is on all day every day even in 30 degree heat, spewing out really disgusting smelling smoke which comes in my windows and right down into my back garden, I had to move the washing line to the front garden because everything stank. They also have a noisy dog that barks for hours in the middle of the night 🙄

So at least you’re a little more considerate than them

Unless you live in the middle of nowhere please don’t bonfire.
When my neighbours do this I can’t hang washing out, have my windows open or play in the garden with DD.
So so so so inconsiderate

My council takes all my garden waste fortnightly.

August is summer! Therefore, my windows are open. My asthma is very bad at the moment, if your bonfire smoke comes into my window while I am sleeping, I WILL get an asthma attack. If you want to be responsible for a potentially fatal asthma attack, go ahead, you sound like your mind is made up anyway

The garden centers don't sell incinerators to use on site 🤦‍♀️

You can have chilly weather in August, lots had woodburners going yesterday. This fire really won't make any more smoke than that. Im not burning anything wet!

I've never seen anyone burn garden waste... but I've also never lived anywhere that charges extra for green waste, so they may be linked.

My council takes all my garden waste fortnightly.

For free? My council charges, as two thirds of the councils in England do.

I wonder if garden waste collection were free for everyone, if there would be fewer bonfires..

We have our bedroom windows open all year round. Nothing worse than going to bed to find your room stinks like bonfire. Unless you're going to warn all neighbours in the vicinity its really selfish

For free? My council charges, as two thirds of the councils in England do.

Mine is for free, yeah. Two thirds of councils charge to empty the green bins?! Ours get taken fornightly, alternated with the black bins.

We have alternate weeks' black bin (general waste) and green bin (garden waste) / recycling sacks. Food bins every week.

I think our Council does a great job (just wish they collected glass!)

Normal collections. No charge.

How do the bonfire/bbq-haters feel about fire pits? Not as bad as an actual bonfire surely? I'd love to get one but wouldn't want to piss off the neighbours...

My council charges around £65 a year to take away garden waste, they come once a fortnight.

My council charge £35 per annum for the huge green bin. I can't believe someone's council won't take bindweed! Do they sift through every bin looking for roots and bindweed foliage? Don't they hot compost it and sell it back to the public? Ours does, and you can put any plant material in including chunks of tree.
Please, while the subject of bonfires is up, can everyone who gathers a pile of plant material, sticks etc to burn in situ, check the pile for hedgehogs before striking the match?

Omega for me, it's not about the BBQs on bonfires per se, but how they are operated, if you like.

So firstly, tell you neighbours. Secondly, don't park your BBQ right outside your backdoor so it's also right on top of your NDN's house (if you live in a terrace, for example) - park it right at the end of the garden. Don't care if it's inconvenient for you.

And don't have your bonfire during the day EVER, or on an evening when people are likely to have their windows open. Cold dank dark evenings are for bonfires. Not August.

I don't think people understand about incinerators. They are for sale literally everywhere. Silver metal bins with lids with a funnelled hole in the lid for the smoke to come out. Safer than a bonfire as the fire is contained. You can buy different sizes. Mine is about 15 inches tall, so quite small.

Bonfires used to be done regularly before councils started collecting garden waste. Now councils are charging to take the waste, so a lot of people are going back to bonfires or incinerators. Incinerators have much less smoke than a bar b q. I think bonfires probably have the same amount as a bad b q..

Take your garden waste to the tip or get a green bin. It's very environmentally unfriendly to burn garden waste and completely unnecessary to dispose of your waste this way. It's unneighbourly as your neighbours for miles around will be able to smell the smoke and may have to keep their windows shut and evenings are still warm. Ora especially damaging for those who have serious health conditions like COPD and asthma.

I also think woodburners should be banned but they are not an excuse for you to pollute further by burning your garden waste.

And for people saying no more someone comes off burning garden waste than a BBQ are talking rubbish. Garden waste let's off smoke for hours. BBQs generally only smoke when first lit.

Burning garden stuff doesn't last hours if you do it right. Mines usually over within 20 mins. No one burns what they've cut that day! It's been drying for a week's

The government is very slowly waking up to the pollution created, so eventually all this will be banned.

Laughing about the environmentally friendly argument when it means all your neighbours have to wash all their laundry again, use a dryer and can't even open their windows.

It's selfish and inconsiderate at best.