Fires

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Fires in Urban Areas

Fire Permits

Burning household rubbish or green waste is banned on sections less than 5,000m² in urban areas serviced by weekly rubbish collections.

Outdoor fires are still permitted for cooking or heating, such as barbecues, hangi or braziers. 

Any burning on sections over 5,000m² in urban areas must not harm the environment or create a nuisance to neighbours. 

How to dispose of household waste

You can recycle, compost, shred or mulch most household waste.

• Find out when your rubbish and recycling will be collected
• See what you can recycle in New Plymouth District 
• Check out the recycling directory

Outdoor burning in rural areas

Make sure there are no effects beyond your property boundary. 

• Allow vegetation to dry before burning.
• Keep fires at least 50m from a road or 100m from a highway or neighbouring house.
• Check the wind direction and strength before lighting a fire.
• Tyres or used oil cannot be burned in the open. 

What to do when lighting a fire

• Keep the fire small, feed it from another pile if need be.
• Make sure a hose, connected to a pressurised water supply, or a knapsack sprayer is available immediately next to the fire.
• The fire must be supervised at all times. If the NZFS attend the fire and it is unsupervised they will extinguish the fire.
• Light the fire early in the morning and extinguish the fire by night fall.
• Consult with your neighbour before lighting the fire because resulting smoke may aggravate medical conditions and/or annoy your neighbour.
• Make sure the fire does not cause a nuisance to nearby residents or property from smoke, odour, ash or toxic fumes. Causing a nuisance to neighbours is an offence under Council bylaws.
• If weather conditions change and the fire becomes a nuisance to neighbours, it must be extinguished.
• Keep grass surrounding the fire area mown or grazed, and take precautions to avoid the fire spreading to other vegetation
• Burn small amounts - large objects will block the air flow into incinerators. Keep the volume of material down to less than one 1m^³.
• Dry any materials before burning.

What should I do if my neighbour’s fire is causing a nuisance?

In most cases, talking to your neighbour and asking them to put the fire out until conditions are more suitable (e.g. when the breeze does not blow smoke in your direction) will solve the problem.

If your neighbour’s fire is causing you concern, call us on 06-759 6060. A staff member will investigate as soon as possible. While it is likely the fire will be out by the time of the visit, discussion with your neighbour will hopefully prevent a re-occurrence of the problem.Return to top