Using your fire pit to burn anything that isn’t the fuel it is designed for (wood, charcoal, gas) is a bad idea. Not only can it be dangerous, but it is also illegal for some materials. If you want to know more about the legislation in your area, check out our guide.
While it might seem like you can use your fire pit to burn just about anything, it’s not a good idea.
To keep you straight, here are our top 10 materials to avoid burning on a fire pit…
10 materials you should never burn on your fire pit
Let’s dive straight in –
1. Plastic
Burning plastic releases dangerous chemical fumes and toxins, such as dioxins, styrene gas, and furans. These are not only bad for you but also bad for the environment.
What’s more, burning plastic is illegal because of the harm it can cause.
2. Magazines and Newspapers
You’d be forgiven for thinking that magazines and newspapers are safe to burn—they are made from paper. The problem is that the ink used on them, when burned, also gives off dangerous toxins.
For magazines, in particular, the gloss on the pages is also usually plastic-based.
3. Wooden Pallets
Wooden pallets might seem like the ideal fuel source for your fire pit, but they aren’t. Many wooden pallets are treated with methyl bromide, a dangerous toxin when burned and released into the air.
So, unless you are confident that the wooden pallets you want to burn haven’t been treated with anything, then you are best to avoid burning them on your fire pit.
4. Cheap Furniture Made From MDF or Particleboard
Wooden furniture seems like an ideal fuel source for your fire pit. It’s made from wood!
The problem is that cheap wooden furniture isn’t solid wood; it’s usually made from particleboard, like MDF. Particleboard is made from many small pieces of wood glued together with a strong adhesive.
As you will have guessed, this adhesive is unsuitable for burning and releases dangerous chemicals into the air.
5. Painted or Treated Wood
You’ve no doubt started to notice the theme here. If the wood you intend to burn has been painted or treated in any way, then this should also be avoided burning on your fire pit.
Paints and wood treatments may give off toxic fumes when burned. This is particularly dangerous if you are burning very old painted wood, as there is every chance that the paint is lead-based.
6. Cardboard Boxes
This one will surprise you, but cardboard is another material you should avoid burning on your fire pit.
One reason is that, again, the ink used on the boxes will release dangerous chemical fumes when burned.
The other key reason is that cardboard will often cause an unpredictable surge in your fire because it burns so quickly, which can be dangerous, particularly if you have a lot of people gathered around the fire.
Recycle cardboard, don't burn it!
7. Garden Weeds like Ivy or Sumac
Burning away your weeds in your fire pit might seem like an ideal solution, but you need to be careful.
Burning Ivy or Sumac, for example (or more specifically, the oil in these two plants) releases fumes into the air that can be dangerous irritants for your lungs and, for some, can cause severe respiratory allergic reactions.
It’s best to avoid burning these and leave it to the professionals.
8. Softwood
Another one that might surprise you is burning softwood in your fire pit is not a good idea. For one thing, burning softwood causes an awful lot of smoke, which is not pleasant to be around.
Some softwood also has sap that releases toxic fumes when burned.
9. Household Waste
Household waste is another item on the illegal-to-burn list. This includes just about everything you throw into your dustbin.
So, if you forgot to put the bins out one week and think that lighting the fire pit and burning the extra bags is a good idea, think again!
10. Fire Accelerants, Aerosols, or any type of Pressurised Cylinder
Last but not least is fire accelerants. This might sound obvious, but unfortunately, it needs to be said.
Fire accelerants like petroleum, pressurised canisters like deodorant, hairspray, or anything else are incredibly dangerous to burn on your fire pit.
Not only could they cause the fire to get out of hand and far too large to control (and do so incredibly quickly), but they also could explode, causing debris and shrapnel to be propelled out. This could cause serious bodily harm.
What You Can Burn on A UK Fire Pit
The best thing to do is to keep things as simple as possible when thinking about what to turn on your fire pit:
Well-Seasoned Hardwood – the best choice will always be good, high-quality, well-seasoned hardwood. It burns well and steadily. It gives off a great amount of heat and doesn’t give off any poisonous toxins. The better the quality, the cleaner the burn will be too, which means less smoke!
Charcoal—Charcoal is an alternative to wood. It burns even slower than wood and gives off much heat. As you will surely know, it’s also great to cook with.
If your fire pit uses gas as its fuel source (propane or natural gas), then this is the only thing you should burn on your fire pit.
Bioethanol is perfect for a fire pit, but make sure you use the right bioethanol fuel recommended by the manufacturer.
Final Thoughts
Knowing what not to burn is as important as knowing what you should be burning. As a reminder, here is our top 10 list of what you must never burn in a fire pit.
10 Materials to Avoid Burning on a Fire Pit
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Plastics
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Magazines and Newspapers
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Wooden Pallets
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MDF or Particleboard Furniture
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Paint or Treated Wood
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Cardboard Boxes
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Garden Weeds like Ivy or Sumac
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Softwood
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Household Waste
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Fire Accelerants, Aerosols or Pressurised Cylinders
If you keep things simple and stick to our top 10 materials to avoid burning on a fire pit, you will be fine.
Post Code Checker
Using a wood burner outside is legal; being a nuisance with an outdoor fire can cause problems with the neighbours and the local council. Here is our local council checker for their guidelines.
This is currently for postcodes in England and Wales. It will soon expand to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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