If you’re planning a clean-up on your property this spring, do you know whether you need a permit to burn fallen branches and prunings?
Regulations covering burning in the open were updated in 2016 to apply to all built-up areas across the state.
Under these regulations, council approval is required to burn outdoors in metropolitan Adelaide and in townships.
A bonfire is not necessarily the best way of dealing with excess organic material, especially in the suburbs or inside town limits.
In most cases, the preferred option is to dispose of the material through your council’s free green waste drop-off days or via the regular green bin system, which has the extra benefit of recycling the material for compost.
Council will issue a permit if burning is considered necessary for fire prevention or to dispose of piles of agricultural or forestry waste, so this won’t affect anyone’s ability to prepare for bushfire season.
The penalty for burning in the open without a permit is $300, so checking before you burn could save you a lot of money.
Smoke can have serious effects on human health, and while it can affect anyone, the risks are greater for the elderly, young children, and people who have cardiovascular or respiratory diseases.
It also creates a nuisance in built-up areas, and can be a source of conflict between neighbours.
Learn more about burning in the open here, or contact your local council.
If you are doing a broadacre burn or disposing of vegetation piles outside a township, no permit is required, but you must comply with the relevant CFS Code of Practice.