My neighbour has lit yet another bonfire in his back garden tonight...

[BluSky5]

Would it be unreasonable to think that bonfires shouldn’t be allowed at the moment? I work in healthcare and would like to keep the house well ventilated but my neighbours bonfires keep filling my house up with smoke. I can’t seem to smell it but it’s only when it’s started to irritate my lungs that I realise he’s got another fire lit.

Would it be unreasonable to think that garden fires shouldn’t be allowed at the moment?

@HavelockVetinari would be a bit of a weird joke, but ok?
Still wondering what the fuck to do with it all if can neither dispose of it nor burn it. They havent upped our black bag limit either

YANBU.

The particulates emitted by a fire in one minute are equivalent to those produced by 800 cigarettes. And then another 800 the next minute, etc.

I don't even want to inhale one cigarette passively, let alone 800 every minute a fire is lit.

There wouldn't be so many people vulnerable to respiratory disease if people took air pollution seriously (whether from fires or driving).

woodsmokepollution.org/index.html

Why would you need to burn garden waste just because it wasn’t collected for a week or two. Compost it or just keep it in a pile

Exactly, there’s no need.

Our neighbours over the back we're obviously burning plastic or something that isn't normally burned yesterday. Rest of the neighborhood had to go inside as a result and I would assume next door's washing needed to be rewashed as they weren't around to rescue it.

Left a horrible taste!

I think there's going to be a massive increase in fly tipping with all rubbish disposal options gone except the fortnightly bin collection. Our area is particularly crap for people dumping stuff in field gateways etc.

We were lucky and had recycling collected on the last day before restrictions happened so at least have empty recycling boxes to store clean recyclables in. People due for collection on Wednesday will have a lot more problems.

Why would you need to burn garden waste just because it wasn’t collected for a week or two. Compost it or just keep it in a pile

Because it's not just garden waste? A lot of people who are stuck home aren't sick or unwell, they just can't work at the moment so many are using the time to do bits around the home - like DIY or having a good clear out of junk.

The tips are shut and so are the local recycling centres and not everyone has unlimited space to keep hoardes of junk. Not saying I think a bonfire is acceptable but I can see people's logic.

We have no brown bin collection here at the moment and they've tried to suggest people go four weeks without their black bins being emptied as well

@Canuckduck

Proper garden waste would be less of an issue than a pile of random shite including plastic or treated woods from DIY.

@MadamePewter well yeh only if you’re literally cooking food outside for your household as in you can’t invite anyone over. I guess if anyone smells it they’ll presume you’re having a party type thing tho and kick off but at the end of the day you know what you’re doing right so that’s the main thing.

@BluSky5 You say you can’t smell it in you OP, nothing to do with post but they’ve said sudden loss of smell or taste can be symptom of coronavirus. Hope it’s not, but just thought I’d mention it.

Barbecues and bonfires cause my DD to have ana stoma attack so we have to go round most nights in the summer closing all external doors and the windows even in a heat wave. She has been bad enough to go to hospital. because we live in a holiday area it happens a lot. Personally I wish BBQs had an allocated week day and bonfires an allocated day per month because then we could plan. Genuinely are a health risk to my DD who because of asthma and bed bound is also at a high risk from COVID 19 ( though thankfully not in the 1.5 m). People who have bonfires and Barbecues don't realise how far the smoke spreads I assume.

Been a huge increase in bonfire here too. The one last night was quite late to be fair.

When I was young in the 70s dad had a decent sized veggie patch and it was social convention not to light a bonfire before 6pm as most washing etc was in by then and it was cooler so people less likely to have windows open. Mainly he used to burn perennial weeds which you shouldn’t compost as it doesn’t completely kill them.

Maybe we live in the same road. Every afternoon someone near my house has a bonfire. My washing stinks. Im trying to let the children play outside as much as possible. I want to open the windows but it's gross.

It's just do inconsiderate when we are all housebound.

it’s the teenage son. He’s got a garden full of mates smoking weed and sitting round a bonfire

Well, having a garden full of mates is something the police will act on, so report him.

YANBU OP, in fact bonfires should not be allowed in gardens full stop. At best they're anti-social, at worst they are dangerous.

I know councils have stopped their garden waste collections and at least some have closed their tips, well you will just have to wait to get rid of the stuff.

Vivien Scott, the trouble is there’s no testing for anyone. Unless you have a temp of 37.8 you have to carry on.

But that’s for another thread.

People having bonfires in residential areas at the moment bc are selfish.

our plan is to pile the weeds behind the shed (so at least I cant see it!) for now. I remember looking at bonfire "law" years ago and it was something like evenings only (like a pp said when it was more likely washing had been taken in, windows closed). I dont even like barbecues!

They are not collecting green waste so people don't have much of a choice. Every night isn't fair but once a week is ok. My (adult) kids had one yesterday, they threw themselves a "party" (just them) toasted marshmallows etc to amuse themselves, neighbours kids joined in dancing (in their garden) not sure what the older people in the surrounding area thought because it was very loud according to my neighbour (she told them enough at 11, I'm stuck half way across the country)

"Can't you people that want to burn everything start compost bins instead?"

Twigs and branches wont compost. They have to be burnt.

"Why would you need to burn garden waste just because it wasn’t collected for a week or two. Compost it or just keep it in a pile"

Because this is going to be more than a week or two? Could go on for months. I dont pay for mine to be collected, so I mainly compost and burn twigs /sticks. Mines done in a small metal burner so only lasts a short time.

having a good clear out of junk. The tips are shut and so are the local recycling centres

🤔

Do people REALLY need to be told that now isn't an appropriate time to do that?

I think if the council aren't going to tell him, you need to go outside and lose your shit, scream at the arse and go on about everyones washing and how he's being an unreasonable jerk lighting fires so often when it's affecting the whole neighbourhood, making your houses stink on the only chance anyone has to open windows. I bet the other neighbours will be cheering. Let him think you are a complete nut whos derranged, he'll probably be afraid to cross you.

@OlaEliza what's wrong with tidying and clearing out your own house?

We've been doing just that all week and are now prepping the living room for plastering and painting. Why not?

Neither of us are sick and we're stuck at home for at least another two weeks - we might as well do something useful instead of sitting about festering all day.

We have space in our garden to store anything that belongs in the tip so I'm
not quite sure why we need to stop?