Council warning on backyard fires
Follow the rules, regional council asks residents — or face penalties
orthland Regional Council is encouraging those planning to burn rubbish over autumn to consider their neighbours and follow the rules, or risk fines and other penalties.
Burning and smoke nuisance complaints made up 25 per cent of all incidents reported on the council’s Environmental Hotline, said Councillor Joce Yeoman, who chairs the council’s planning and regulatory working party, and autumn was a busy time of year for backyard fires.
“People might be burning off vegetation that was left to ‘die and dry’ over summer, or disposing of paper, cardboard or untreated timber. So they need to keep a few things in mind as they tidy up before winter kicks in,” Yeoman said.
Nationally it was prohibited to burn tyres, coated metal wire and oil (in the open air), along with materials such as plastic containers, treated timber, demolition waste and synthetic materials.
In Northland a resource consent was needed to burn anything other than untreated wood, paper, cardboard or vegetation, and they still needed to be managed to minimise the effects on neighbours.
“Smoke from outdoor burning pollutes the air and can cause serious health problems. In particular, burning plastic emits toxic, unpleasant fumes, and frustratingly, it still happens in Northland,” Yeoman said. Outside the Whanga¯rei urban area, Northlanders could light outside fires if they followed rules that required them to avoid causing offence, objectionable or noxious smoke or odours for neighbouring residents; to give written notice at least 24 hours in advance to all neighbours within 100 metres if the fire was to burn for more than 24 hours and was within 100 metres of a smoke-sensitive area (such as homes, schools, parks or marae); to avoid obscuring vision on a public road; and to only light fires containing waste that was created on-site, consisting of paper, untreated wood, cardboard and vegetation (or animal remains where the fire was on agricultural land). The ability to light outdoor fires did not apply during a restricted fire season or fire ban, and anyone who had a permit still had to follow the council’s rules.
Burning for cooking, including barbecues, hangi, pizza ovens and umu, was permitted, as were woodfired kilns and in some cases community bonfires, but they must not cause smoke or odours that were a nuisance beyond the property.
Colin Dall, group manager regulatory services, said there were plenty of alternative ways to dispose of waste, in both rural and urban settings. “Compost, mulch or chip your garden waste, and add it to your garden for extra nutrients — larger logs can be cut to size and used as firewood during winter, while waste vegetation produces significantly less smoke when it’s been left to dry before burning,” Dall said.
“Dispose of your waste through your district council’s roadside collection, or take larger quantities of refuse to a transfer station. Consider hiring a mini-skip with a neighbour to cut costs. Plastics, paper, glass and tins can go into your recycling bin.”
There had been an average of 252 burning and smoke nuisance complaints over each of the last five years, and those who breached the rules were liable for enforcement action ranging from instant fines of up to $1000 to abatement notices and prosecution, the latter allowing for much greater penalties. Nuisance or illegal burning can be reported on the council’s 24/7 Environmental Hotline (0800 504-639), while full information on the rules around backyard burning, including a link to rules under the proposed regional plan, can be found at www.nrc.govt.nz/ backyardburning