Bonfires cause problems, the major one being annoying smoke. The problem is caused by burning damp or green waste, waste that can in almost every case be composted to re-energise the soil. Burning not only creates a potential health and environmental hazard, but also deprives the plot of nutrients as the ash has only limited benefits. With some forethought, it is not necessary to have bonfires.
The only things that present a problem in the compost heap are
(1) diseased plants, (2) twiggy material and (3) pernicious perennial weeds like
bindweed roots, ground elder etc. The way to deal with them are:
(1) remove
them from your site and use the Council’s new garden waste
collection
arrangements or the kitchen waste bins
(2) either remove them
from site as above, or borrow or hire a shredder and put the chips on the
compost heap, or bury them
(3) compost perennial weeds separately by keeping
them in old fertilizer bags for a year or two to rot down, before then adding
the bag contents to the main heap — the more you can dry them out (eg on a windy
sunny day on a sheet of black plastic before putting them in bags), the better.
If you do decide to have a bonfire, please follow the guidelines on the site
gates and above all, dry out your material first so the fire doesn’t produce
nasty thick smoke. The way to do this is to put it loosely (so the air can
circulate) on black plastic, for several months, turning occasionally and the
sun and wind will gradually take out the moisture. Buy or borrow an incinerator
as this makes it hotter and tidier (you can ask your site rep if they know who
you can borrow one from).
Incinerators are available from Morrisons, Bedminster, for less than £14 Thick, good quality, cheap, Black Plastic is available from the stores.
