The tradition of lighting bonfires to mark pagan festivals and community celebrations could become a casualty of the Department of Environment’s crackdown on the burning of agricultural green waste.
Local authorities are responsible for enforcing regulations around the disposal of waste by burning. It is an offence to burn waste, including garden waste.
Given the tradition of summer/Halloween and community celebration bonfires, many rural county council’s have been reluctant to prosecute offending parties on these occasions on the basis that only natural materials, such as untreated timber, are burned in bonfires.
In the past, some householders had used the excuse of a bonfire to off-load waste materials, such as plastic and tyres, however, local authorities have clamped down on the practice in recent years.
Traditionally, agricultural green waste such as fallen trees and bushes were the main fuel source for bonfires.
However, the Department of Environment last week confirmed the exemption for the burning of agricultural green waste will come to an end next year, with two final short windows allowed in 2023 — until the March 1, 2023, and for a final three-month period from September 1 to November 30, 2023.
When asked whether the change will effectively make bonfires illegal, the Local Government Management Agency said under the Waste Management (Prohibition of Waste Disposal by Burning) Regulations 2009, it is an offence to burn waste. Local authorities enforce these regulations.
The exemption that applies to the burning of agricultural waste within the specified period applies only as a last resort, under strict conditions and where a statutory declaration has been provided to the local authority.
Meanwhile, leaving branches and bushes in the corner of fields to decompose over time is among the alternatives to burning, a new study commissioned by the Government has found.
The study, prepared by the Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA), also found that agriculture green waste could be used as wood-fuel, wood-chip, mulch and compost.
It also suggested farmers use alternative hedgerow management and practices, such as coppicing and hedge-laying to reduce waste.
(Source – Irish Independent – Indo Farming – Ciaran Moran – 07/02/2023)