Although bonfires are allowed in Wolverhampton, burning rubbish causes unpleasant smells, fumes and nuisance smoke. This causes air pollution and impacts on neighbours and others in your community, particularly if they have serious underlying health issues such as lung and respiratory conditions.

Please be mindful of the health and wellbeing of your neighbours.

We encourage you to re-use or recycle as much as possible. Dispose of your garden waste using your purple bin or by composting. Find helpful information about composting on our composting pages

Home Composting

If items are too big for bins, under the current emergency conditions, please store them safely at your property until a time when the Government lockdown is lifted and our tips and bulky waste collections re-open. When we receive complaints about potential statutory nuisances we must investigate and where necessary take formal action to stop any ongoing nuisance

Thank you for your co-operation and support during this unprecedented crisis and please help us to keep our communities safe.

Report a bonfire problem

If you dispose of garden refuse by lighting a bonfire, the following guidance should reduce the risk of nuisance:

  • burn only dry material which will burn quickly with the minimum of smoke, not material which is sodden or still green or still contains sap
  • choose a time when the wind is unlikely to take smoke into any adjacent premises
  • site the fire as far from adjacent premises as possible
  • supervise the fire and put it out if a problem arises 
  • ensure that the fire is out at the end of the day, not left to smoulder overnight
  • if enforcement action is required an officer will need to witness the bonfire

Report a bonfire problem or nuisance

If you have a problem with bonfires which you feel cause a nuisance, you can report this nuisance using the Report a bonfire problem form.

Bonfires and air pollution

The council continually monitors air quality and reports on various pollutants at locations throughout the city which may or may not be related to bonfires. These pollutants include:

  • Carbon Monoxide
  • Nitric Oxide
  • Nitrogen Dioxide
  • Ozone
  • Particles
  • Sulphur Dioxide

Useful information

Here you can find guidance on holding community bonfires.

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