The Rescue Department reminds you about the appropriate disposal of garden waste

Many people start their spring gardening and yard work around the Easter holidays. The Rescue Department would like to remind people that a good way to dispose of garden waste is to compost it or deliver it to waste station. The burning of garden waste is prohibited in urbanised areas. If you burn leaves and brushwood in a sparsely populated area, you must consider the weather conditions, safety concerns and your neighbours.

Many people start their spring gardening and yard work around the Easter holidays. Please remember that in Western Uusimaa, the open burning of brushwood and other garden waste in a campfire, a barrel or a similar container is prohibited in urbanised areas. Furthermore, burning garbage or construction waste is prohibited even in sparsely populated areas. They must always be taken to an appropriate waste disposal site. 

If you burn leaves and brushwood in a sparsely populated area, you must consider the weather conditions and safety concerns. Open fires may not be lit during strong winds (over 14 m/s) or when the Finnish Meteorological Institute has issued a forest fire or grass fire warning. Current warnings can be checked on the website: en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/warnings

You must always have the landowner’s permission to light an open fire. Before burning, you should also consider the potential smoke nuisance to your neighbours and inform them in advance.

A sufficient amount of first-aid fire extinguishing equipment must also be available at the burning site. This equipment may include, for example, water buckets, portable fire extinguishers, and a pressurised garden hose. The fire must be attended to at all times. If there appears to be a risk of the fire spreading to the surrounding area, you must call the emergency number 112. Sometimes, a small-scale fire can escalate into a wildfire. 

In general, it is worth considering whether the garden waste could be composted or delivered to a waste station instead of burning. If you burn garden waste, make sure that the fire is completely extinguished afterwards, and nothing is left burning. Hot ashes can start a fire even after a long delay.

The Rescue Department does not issue permits for burning. If you light a fire, you are responsible for it. The Western Uusimaa Rescue Department does not accept notifications concerning the burning of garden waste, apart from extensive prescribed burning and other burning that produces significant smoke. See further information at: pelastustoimi.fi/en/western-uusimaa/instructions-and-forms/open-fires

Garden waste and brushwood - HSY