Bonfires, air pollution and smells

Report a bonfire or air pollution issue, including smoke, dust and smells and the rules for having bonfires.

If you’re bothered by a bonfire, air pollution or smell

Try and talk to the person responsible.  They may not realise they’re causing a problem.  If this doesn’t resolve the problem or you can’t talk to the person responsible, you can report it to us. You'll need to tell us how the problem has affected you over the last 14 days.

Report a bonfire, air pollution or smell online

Other ways to contact us

Call 0117 922 2500, option 4.

Bonfires

Bonfires can cause nuisance to other people and animals:

• by making asthma, bronchitis or other respiratory conditions worse
• by affecting visibility for drivers on nearby roads
• because fire can spread to nearby fences or buildings
• because piles of garden waste are often used by animals for shelter

There are no laws against having a bonfire, but there are laws against the nuisance they can cause.  This can lead to legal action being taken against the person responsible for the fire.

Burning household waste

You can’t get rid of household waste in a way that will cause pollution or harm to people’s health.  This includes burning it. 

There are better ways of dealing with waste that don’t affect air quality:

• garden waste can be dealt with by composting, after a few months it will turn into an excellent fertiliser
• we can also collect garden waste, other waste and bulky items or you can take it to your local tip or recycling centre

Danger to traffic by smoke

You could be fined if you light a fire and allow the smoke to drift across a road, causing a danger to traffic.

Having a bonfire

If you would still like to have a bonfire:

• use dry material only
• avoid burning at weekends and bank holidays
• don’t burn tyres, cables, plastics, rubber, painted products or household waste
• don’t leave a fire unattended, even when it’s just smouldering
• warn neighbours that you are going to have a bonfire