Burning Household Waste Safely

Published on Monday, 16 March 2026 at 10:24:13 AM

With the Restricted Burning Period ending on Monday 16 March 2026, all Shire of Merredin residents will be permitted to begin freely burning garden waste again. While we transition into this period, we do ask residents to remain mindful when burning, as doing so releases toxins into the air that we breathe.

Per the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, “Wood smoke is similar to tobacco smoke in composition and has known health impacts.

These include:

• Eye, nose and throat irritation
• Increased asthma and respiratory problems
• Headaches, nausea and dizziness
• Aggravation of chronic heart and lung conditions.”

There is no such thing as non-toxic smoke, even if you think you’re only burning harmless garden waste, so if you’re choosing to burn, please consider the following tips to do so as safely as possible.

• Recycle, compost or mulch as much as you can. Far better to inject the goodness of green waste back into your garden!
• Only burn organic matter such as green waste, paper, or cardboard. Burning synthetic fabrics or plastic releases particularly harmful toxins into the air.
• Follow fire safe practices such as:
  • Ensure your garden hose can reach all boundaries of your garden – and have two hoses (connected to running water) if possible;
  • Burn multiple smaller piles rather than one large pile;
  • Have a minimum of two able-bodied adults overseeing the burn;
  • Ensure there is a fire break completely surrounding the area you’ll be burning;
  • Notify your neighbours that you’ll be burning so that they have the opportunity to close their windows and bring their laundry in;
  • Avoid burning if the wind speed is over 15km/hour (or anything stronger than a gentle breeze); and
  • Ensure that you are present for the entire burn, and that the fire is completely extinguished when you leave.

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