Across the back street from my house is an end-of-terrace building the size of two houses. It used to be a printers but has recently sprung up as a scabby mini-market and laundrette.

Anyway, they’re regularly having what I assume to be bonfires in their back yard. I was wondering if it’s the sort of thing I should be reporting to the council? I don’t know what they’re burning or if it’s hazardous, and I don’t know whether this practice is legal. I can’t imagine their neighbour is overly impressed.

Anyone know for sure?

https://www.gov.uk/garden-bonfires-rules… yeah scratch that, didn’t spot is was a business.

If it’s the business having fires, I’d say yes, little garden bonfires no, but business burning business waste, presumably to avoid refuse collection charges or something? Smoke black or smoke grey?

current legislation and policy is covered in this doc

http://archive.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/local/nuisance/smoke/documents/bonfiresmoke-report.pdf

see page 20 >

If it is a business burning their waste then report to Environment Agency as soon as possible.

The only waste your are allowed to burn as a business is virgin wood which has been produced from clearing bushes/trees on the same site they were chopped down. Any more would require a licence but you’d never get a licence for the sort of activity you are describing. They are just doing it to save money or just laziness.

what robdob said – business burning any waste is a no-no.

Illegal as noted.
It is also very annoying and smelly when a neighbour used to do this

Builder trying to burn such well know things as plaster , cement dust and bricks. Slightly better than when he smashed double glazing units and burnt the plastic – he really could see nothing wrong with this.

Slightly better than when he smashed double glazing units and burnt the plastic – he really could see nothing wrong with this.

This is the standard method for waste disposal across most of Africa!

Reported to the EA (who were lovely). Cheers all.

For the benefit of anyone else reading this subsequently, they have a specific incident report line, 0800 807060.

It may be illegal but I can assure you its done far and wide across the land. Looks for matches and diesel.

Difficult for me to look for anything in an enclosed yard, short of shimmying over a ten foot high wall (and probably featuring on CCTV). Nothing in the back street that I’ve seen.