Is any form of burning legal

beer enigma

I have a problem with a neighbour burning garden waste from a converted trailer on his driveway.

I know that doesn't make sense, but if you look at the attached pic you'll see what I mean. I cant see exactly what he's got in the trailer as its covered with tarpaulin, but I'm presuming its some form of wood burner as there is an aluminium flue sticking up through the top.

Every night at around 5pm he starts & the air is filled with smoke. I challenged him on it and he says that so long as he has a chimney, its legal to use it.

I've contacted the council & three days later am still chasing for a reply, so just wondered if anybody here had any knowledge on the subject

lucylu

From the Cork Co Council Website
http://www.corkcoco.ie/co/web/Cork%20County%20Council/Departments/Environment%20&%20Waste/Waste/Waste%20Collection/Backyard%20Burning%20Advice

beer enigma

Thanks for that - I searched the site this morning & couldn't find it.....time for another neighbourly visit methinks

Cicero

OP..that is the most bizare looking contraptions I've seen in a garden....every night he does it??? I wonder does he bring home rubbish from his business or something to burn to save on paying for waste collection...I'd be interested to see the outcome of this- burning garden trimmings etc is a nuisance and against the law but he could be putting anything into that thing..do let us know how you get on.

beer enigma

Cicero wrote: »

OP..that is the most bizare looking contraptions I've seen in a garden....every night he does it??? I wonder does he bring home rubbish from his business or something to burn to save on paying for waste collection...I'd be interested to see the outcome of this- burning garden trimmings etc is a nuisance and against the law but he could be putting anything into that thing..do let us know how you get on.

Its parked in his driveway & he takes it away during the day sometimes - at first I thought it was a mobile pizza oven !, but you can tell from the smell of the smoke he's burning wood rather than rubbish

Sonnenblumen

Burning waste is banned, but burning wood in a stove, chiminea, pizza oven, well that's completely different. As a matter of interest, why does it bother you so much?


The smell of a wood burning pizza oven can be appealing.

beer enigma

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Burning waste is banned, but burning wood in a stove, chiminea, pizza oven, well that's completely different. As a matter of interest, why does it bother you so much?


The smell of a wood burning pizza oven can be appealing.

It bothers me because its burning from 5pm to 8.30pm every day & fills my house with the smell of bonfire smoke every single night. Its got to a stage where we have to shut all windows & doors at 5pm.

We're not just talking a trickle of smoke here, this thing really smokes ! & given the fact that the top of the flue is only 8 ft from the ground, its very invasive. I have three young kids & even they can't play in the garden after 5pm because they come in reeking of bonfires.

Chinasea

Burning coal for f's sake is not illegal in Dublin - selling it is.

Cicero

I think the county council and that "nuisance" clause in the link posted above will give you all the ammunition you need...he might be par-cooking burgers etc and then going to events and re-heating them/finishing them off at the event- which brings in a consumer health & safety food issue, and of course, there's also the revenue commissioners....If I were him, I wouldn't be such an ignorant so and so ....

very

you can burn trees, etc as long as u call the council and the fire brigade wen u start burning

beer enigma

Cicero wrote: »

I think the county council and that "nuisance" clause in the link posted above will give you all the ammunition you need...he might be par-cooking burgers etc and then going to events and re-heating them/finishing them off at the event- which brings in a consumer health & safety food issue, and of course, there's also the revenue commissioners....If I were him, I wouldn't be such an ignorant so and so ....

Its definitely not food - I suspect that he's doing some gardening work privately & burning the clippings & branches etc

Cicero

Andip wrote: »

Its definitely not food - I suspect that he's doing some gardening work privately & burning the clippings & branches etc

If that's the case, then he needs a license to take away people's waste and if he doesn't have one, then he can be subject to a fine and prosecution ...like I said....he's asking for trouble doing what he's doing in a residential area- surely other neighbours could support you and get the matter sorted quickly?

redser7

A genuine case for the famous five! What's under the tarpaulin? It's intriguing. Any chance of taking a look? First guess was that he is doing gardening work and burning branches/prunings. Looks dodgy considering he seems to be hiding something. Did you send the photo to the council? How about the gards?

beer enigma

redser7 wrote: »

A genuine case for the famous five! What's under the tarpaulin? It's intriguing. Any chance of taking a look? First guess was that he is doing gardening work and burning branches/prunings. Looks dodgy considering he seems to be hiding something. Did you send the photo to the council? How about the gards?

Sent photos into the council & got an out of office reply from their contact email address ! Guess that's par for the course

Gardai are busy enough without me bothering them

Next step is a bucket of water :-)

looksee

How could you burn anything in that lot without setting the tarpaulin on fire? Even if it is in some sort of container, the tarp around the chimney would burn.

cora09

maybe he's a serial killer and is really burning bodies in it hence the big cover up... surely he can't be allowed burn stuff everyday like that isn't there rules and regulations about burning stuff in residential areas... preventing smog, distance from trees, neighbouring houses and the road etc...

beer enigma

looksee wrote: »

How could you burn anything in that lot without setting the tarpaulin on fire? Even if it is in some sort of container, the tarp around the chimney would burn.

We can live in hope .......

Irish Fire Services Website

l think this may clarify it for you!

Gormley targets illegal ‘backyard’ burning of waste
04/09/09
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (John Gormley T.D.) has today (04 Sept 09) announced he recently signed new regulations strengthening the law against waste disposal by uncontrolled burning, so-called backyard burning.
The Waste Management (Prohibition of Waste Disposal by Burning) Regulations 2009 make more explicit the offence of disposal of waste by uncontrolled burning and various actions are prohibited by the Regulations, including such disposal within the curtilage of a dwelling.
Failure to comply with the new regulations is an offence and fines of up to €3,000 are applicable for summary offences brought to court.
The regulations provide exemptions for certain agricultural practices but only as a last resort and after specified steps are taken to, inter alia, reduce, and recycle waste arisings. This exemption applies until 1 January 2014 when such activities will require registration with local authorities and be subject to the controls set out in the facility permit legislation. Local authorities may also exempt certain local cultural events if they so wish.
“The current legislative provisions are not strong enough to tackle the wholly unacceptable practice of uncontrolled burning of waste”, said the Minister.
He added: “The Environmental Protection Agency highlighted backyard burning as a significant issue in its 2005 report on ‘The Nature and Extent of Unauthorised Waste Activity in Ireland’. In that report the EPA indicated that 80% of local authorities had identified backyard burning as being a significant problem.”
According to the National Waste Report 2007, produced by the EPA, nationally it is estimated that 20% of households do not avail of a waste collection service. In some areas participation rates are as low as 55% and while it does not necessarily follow that the same percentage of households are illegally dumping or burning their waste, as an increasing number of people take waste directly to transfer stations and recycling centres, the likelihood is that a significant percentage of such waste is being burned. The Minister stressed that this is not acceptable and must be challenged.
The Minister acknowledged the efforts made to date by local authorities to tackle the issue, which have had a heavy emphasis on awareness.
“The "Race against Waste" campaign gave a high priority to raising awareness on the adverse effects of backyard burning. This campaign, allied with the efforts of local authorities, has without doubt led to a higher level of awareness of the consequences of such uncontrolled burning of waste”, said the Minister, and he added: “Any burning of waste that causes, or is likely to cause, pollution will now more explicitly be a breach of both the Waste Management and Air Pollution legislation and local authorities will be able to take legal action against the offenders. All local authorities have dedicated multi-disciplinary Waste Management Enforcement Teams, funded under the Environment Fund from my Department, and they should now police and prosecute breaches of the new Regulations.”

Notes for editors
- The biggest source of Ireland’s dioxin emissions currently are from uncontrolled combustion processes such as the home burning of domestic waste and backyard burning of waste.
- While it is obviously difficult to quantify it, the likelihood is that at least 10% of uncollected waste currently is disposed of by illegal burning in certain areas. In 2007, for example, an average of 80% of households availed of a kerbside collection service but in some areas the participation rate was as low as 55%.
- The existing controls, which rely solely on section 32 of the Waste Management Act, are of a general nature and state that:
- "a person shall not hold, transport, recover or dispose of waste in a manner that causes or is likely to cause environmental pollution".
- More explicit provisions detailing what is prohibited in terms of burning waste are contained in the new regulations. In essence all forms of burning, other than that covered by, for example, a waste licence, are prohibited and this includes burning waste in a domestic fireplace.
- There are over 120 local authority waste enforcement officers currently being supported by grant aid from the Environment Fund at a cost of some €7.4m. Each local authority has in place an Enforcement Policy on foot of a Ministerial Policy direction issued on 25 July 2008. Local authorities will be asked to add enforcement of the new regulations to their enforcement priorities for 2009/2010.

Sonnenblumen

The biggest setback to an evolving green ethos was spearheaded by John Gormely and his misplaced policies.

Chinasea

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

The biggest setback to an evolving green ethos was spearheaded by John Gormely and his misplaced policies.

morelike speaheaded by a dumb shortsighted, apathetic, not one tiny bit interested in Green policies mé fein society

magicbastarder

i know people who like to present an outward veneer of being sophisticated and intelligent, but see nothing wrong in burning mattresses down the bottom of their garden instead of having to pay for disposal.

monkeynuz

Perhaps it is some sort of cold smoker or something?

Or maybe the chap like sitting out there?

maybe it doubles as a little workshop for some sort of handicraft and he likes to keep warm?

Heaven forbid someone should want to keep warm!

M.

ParisHilton

Hi all, well I have a neighbour who is burning waste (plastics, etc) in his fireplace. The smell leaking into my house is indescribable..... I do need to now get a builder in to insulate my house as his fumes shouldn't be leaking into my home. But is it safe and legal for him to be disposing of his domestic waste in this manner? I'm just concerned about the plastic element causing problems in his chimney or causing my property damage if it goes on fire. Any suggestions?

goat2

is he making hooch,

ParisHilton

I dropped into him yesterday and he admitted he burns household rubbish. The smell inside his house is foul.... I think he was originally homeless and has been housed by the social services. The chemical smell seems to be his burning of plastics in the fireplace. Not a very smart person - I think I will report this to the council since it's not just illegal but very dangerous. Honestly, some people are just so stupid....

celticbhoy27

or you could give him a warning that you'd take such an action if he doesn't stop?

ParisHilton

Well, I forgot to mention in my post that I kindly explained when I dropped into him that burning plastics will kill him (ie, ruin his health) and he said that was what he wanted (weird...). I did ask him to stop and he said he would. Since 4pm yesterday he has been burning plastic material so I have temporarily moved out (I work from home.)

Thoushaltnot

Could your neighbour be making charcoal, OP? That could explain the tarpaulin.

There shouldn't be much/any smoke, afaik, though (open to correction there).

monkeynuz

Thoushaltnot wrote: »

Could your neighbour be making charcoal, OP? That could explain the tarpaulin.

There shouldn't be much/any smoke, afaik, though (open to correction there).

Just for your information, making charcoal produces an ENORMOUS amount of smoke due to all of the hydrogen and mucky stuff being burned/sweated out of it and just leaving pure carbon charcoal.

The charcoal left behind won't produce much smoke when being burnt.

Just like with smokeless coal, the "dirty coal" first needs to be heated to rid it of the impurities i.e sulphur etc.

Hope this helps.

M.

beer enigma

Thoushaltnot wrote: »

Could your neighbour be making charcoal, OP? That could explain the tarpaulin.

There shouldn't be much/any smoke, afaik, though (open to correction there).

Turns out its garden waste - he's obviously jobbing on the side and bringing the waste home to burn........couple of swift calls to the council & a friendly local gardai visit & the smoke has stopped.........