(rant) not allowed to light fire in my own garden

[malente]

Hi,

sorry I just need to vent!

I am not legally allowed to practice my firecraft in my own garden. I live in lower saxony (Niedersachsen) in Germany, and fires are completely banned.

Not even allowed to burn gardening rubbish, and bbqs are heavily regulated too.

How stupid is that!

Grrrrrrrr

rant over.

 

[BOD]

Stupid indeed.

 

[Melonfish]

stupid but more common then people realise, i can only burn in my back garden if the smoke burns clear, otherwise i'm looking at hefty fines..
needless to say BBQ season leaves the place looking like 19th century london! tsk.

 

[milius2]

Burn the "Babylon", then you'll be able to burn fires in your own back yard. Silly world of rules we live in...

 

[nigeltm]

Can't you practice lighting your "BBQ" instead?

 

[salan]

I live near Northwich in Cheshire and we are NOT in a smokless zone. We can basically do what we want so long as its not toxic,blocks visibility etc.
But just two roads away thay are in a smokless zone!!
and no coal no fires no nothing!!!
Go figure.
Alan
P.S. we do have an ICI (or what ever they are called this week) about 1/4 of a mile away wonder if that has somehting to do with it? lol

 

[DavidJT]

That's really crazy

 

[Toddy]

Sometimes it's incredibly practical whether as individuals we like it or not.

If my neighbour had a fire in his back garden he'd smoke out either me or the folk on the other side. His garden is enclosed and butts onto the next block's gable. I have the end house and my garden wraps right round so I can usually fire up somewhere that won't cause any grief.........unless the wind is blowing it straight into next door down's washing lines
Just one of the of the pros and cons of modern suburban living.
A little thoughtful courtesy goes a long way.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[IanM]

In many cases incineration is allowed where burning is not, ask the authorities involved.

Incineration involves using excess air to ensure complete combustion giving you the result mentioned above that the smoke burns clear.

A short length of scaffolding tube into the fire with a cool hairdryer on the other end usually works well but of course you can make it as complicated as you wish.

 

[andybysea]

Malente,bad luck there, i wonder what the reasoning is behind it, i assume you where only looking to burn wood to practice your lighting skills? which i thought was carbon neutral, so they cant hit you with the global warming police,lucky for me i live in a area where most houses still have coal/wood fires,so dont have a burning issue.I can see that if you lived in a large urban area having a bonfire in your garden would cause problems,but a small amount of sticks to brew up a hobo of similar,or just enough to prcatice getting a fire to light wouldnt cause any issue's.

 

[malente]

Cheers for all your comments.

I'm living in a suburban neighbourhood, so Toddy is of course right, the policy makes certain sense.

But it is also about individual freedom being regulated to death!

The reasoning is the green/red regional and local government legacy (google for Mr. Trittin and go figure...)

Anyway cheers for letting me vent

 

[EdS]

Ok in the Uk the rules are (excluding local bye-laws):

Not in smokeless zone - fires , BBQ, chimneria and other things with chimneys OK. If you burn plastic etc done for EPA s80 and or various waste regulations.
Rgular fires with smoke/fumes causing and issue with neighbours - Env Protection Act 1990 s 80 notice. Statutory Nuisance.


In a smokless zone - fires, BBQ are OK. Chimneria and other chinmey units are not OK as the Clean Air Act 1993 (replaces CCA 1956) prohibits smoke from chinmeys - there are exempted appliances and fuels but they don't relate to having a fire out side.
Again if it is causing a Nuisance EPA 1990 s80.

 

[salan]

what gets me is that the houses that are along the local dual carriageway are in a smokless zone. but the zone stops as soon as you turn off the dual carraigeway.
To me its a bit like in the cinemas. One half the room used to be for smokers and the other half for non smokers. Always amazed me how they managed to train the smoke to not pass over the invisible line lol
Alan
Glad I am not in the smokeless zone!

 

[Melonfish]

do have an ICI (or what ever they are called this week) about 1/4 of a mile away wonder if that has somehting to do with it? lol

Ah so you get all your minerals in one breath

 

[salan]

Ah so you get all your minerals in one breath

And chlorine and phosgene and....... lol
Alan

 

[FreddyFish]

Can't you practice lighting your "BBQ" instead?

I like this idea.. you say BBQ's are regulated, but is how you light your BBQ regulated??? or how long it takes you to light your BBQ??

Something to think about maybe?

 

[dorkingbushcraft]

light fires at night, then they cant see any smoke

 

[malente]

I like this idea.. you say BBQ's are regulated, but is how you light your BBQ regulated??? or how long it takes you to light your BBQ??

Something to think about maybe?

:You_Rock_

good idea, will try this!

 

[wingstoo]

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAnd...eetcleaninglitterandillegaldumping/DG_4018684

Laws about nuisance caused by bonfires

There aren’t specific laws against having a bonfire, or when you can have one – but there are Acts that deal with the nuisance they can cause.

So apparently there is no "Law" but other systems in place. I guess it also depends how big a fire you are going to light, a catering sized tin with a few twigs in can't really be called a bonfire, and is quickly and easily extinguished once lit.

Wings

 

[phill_ue]

Get yourself one of those gardens that you have to travel to, I'm pretty sure you can burn stuff there. (It's a german thing for those who don't know, a lot of people live in a flat and have a garden on the outskirts of town that they can visit with those rather grand looking Bavarian styled summer houses, or as we would call it a shed!)