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U4: burning waste as fuel in a small appliance

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

There’s a charge for most waste exemptions

This exemption is in band 2. Read waste exemption charges to find out what the charges and charging bands are.

  • a plant nursery burning dead plants and untreated wood waste in a boiler to produce heat for its greenhouses
  • a business burning wooden pallets that have not been treated with timber preservatives in a boiler that also provides hot water for a building
  • burn waste other than those in the waste codes listed
  • burn treated wood waste such as painted or stained pallets or door frames
  • use this exemption to burn waste for disposal – for example, you should not burn waste for heating when the outside temperature is comfortably warm
  • use this exemption to burn waste in the open – a brazier is not an appliance, it simply provides physical containment for what would otherwise be an open bonfire

    • The waste codes are those listed in the List of Wastes regulations. You need to make sure your waste fits within the waste code and description in the table.

  • burn less than 50kg of waste as fuel in 1 hour
  • store up to 10 tonnes of waste at any one time before using it
  • the appliance (for example, a boiler) has a net rated thermal input of less than 0.4 megawatts (MW)
  • the total net rated thermal input is less than 0.4MW, if there is more than one appliance (for example, four 0.1MW appliances)
  • the waste you use is suitable for burning as fuel
  • you do not use any more waste than you need

    • Rather than using the waste as fuel, you can dispose of some types of waste by burning it in an incinerator under exemption D6: disposal by incineration.

    The D6 exemption only applies at the place where the waste is produced.

    Disposing of wood by burning should be a last resort. If suitable, wood should be recycled or recovered (including burning as a fuel) before disposal.

    You may be able to spread the ashes from burning under these exemptions on agricultural land (U10) or non-agricultural land (U11).

    This is an extract. The publication continues at the source.

    Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Licence

    Read the original at the source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/waste-exemption-u4-burning-of-waste-as-a-fuel-in-a-small-appliance

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    Provenance

    Organization
    Environment Agency — imported from official source
    Official source
    https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency.atom ATOM
    Imported
    October 21, 2026 10:00
    Versions
    1 recorded
    Identity
    https://www.gov.uk/guidance/waste-exemption-u4-burning-of-waste-as-a-fuel-in-a-small-ap...

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