D7: burning plant and untreated wood waste where it's produced

Read New rules from January 2027 to find out what to do.

You can burn certain types of waste on a bonfire, at the place you produced it.

Examples of businesses with activities that might need a D7 exemption are: 

landscape gardener or farmer - burning hedge trimmings and branches on a bonfire, at the place where they were cut down 

joiner - burning untreated wood shavings produced in creating a wooden structure in the workshop  

furniture maker - burning sawdust from untreated wood produced during manufacturing  

Untreated means it has not been preserved, varnished, coated, painted or exposed to chemicals. 

Householders burning their own garden waste do not need to register this exemption.

Your waste must match the waste code and description.

outside on open land where the smoke and smell will not be a nuisance to neighbours 

bring waste from somewhere else to burn on your site 

burn waste in an incinerator for disposal (see related exemptions) 

burn waste in a boiler to produce heat and power (see related exemptions)

You will need an environmental permit or a different exemption if you want to burn waste that is not listed in this exemption, or more than the amount of waste allowed.

You must register with the Environment Agency.

have more than one D7 at the same site, at the same time 

register an exemption if it’s already registered at the site by another business  

renew your registration more than one month before the 3-year registration period ends 

register a separate storage exemption to increase the storage limit 

There’s a registration charge to register one or more exemptions at a time.  

Farmers pay a capped charge to register any number of exemptions from a list of exemptions that farmers often use. D7 is on this list of farming exemptions.