D7: burning plant and untreated wood waste where it's produced
Source: gov.uk (2025-07-01)

Businesses such as joiners, gardeners and farmers can burn their own untreated wood and plant waste on a bonfire, at the place it was produced.

There’s a charge for most waste exemptions

This exemption is in band 3. Read waste exemption charges (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-exemptions-how-to-choose-register-and-pay/waste-exemption-charges) to find out what the charges and charging bands are.

Activities you can 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.

Types of waste you can burn

Your waste must match the waste code and description.

Amounts you can burn and store

You can:
- burn up to 10 tonnes of waste in any 24-hour period
- store up to 20 tonnes of waste that you intend to burn, at any one time
- store waste for up to 6 months before burning, to allow it to dry out
Conditions

You must only burn waste:

at the place you produced it

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

You cannot use a D7 exemption to:

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)

Check if you need other permits

You will need an environmental permit (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-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.

Register a D7 waste exemption

You must register with the Environment Agency.

You can register and pay through the waste exemption service (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-your-waste-exemptions).

Charities register by phone

Charities and organisations that work only for charitable purposes (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charitable-purposes/charitable-purposes) do not have to pay for waste exemptions. If you’re a charity, you’ll need to call the Environment Agency to register free of charge.

Registration rules

You cannot:

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

Charges for registering a D7 exemption

See waste exemptions charges (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-exemptions-how-to-choose-register-and-pay/waste-exemption-charges) for details.

D7 has a band 3 compliance charge.

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

Farmer charges

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.

Read waste exemptions guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-exemptions-how-to-choose-register-and-pay) in full.

Charities

Charities and organisations that work only for charitable purposes (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charitable-purposes/charitable-purposes) do not pay for waste exemptions.

Related exemptions

The following activities are better for the environment than burning waste on a bonfire:

U4: burning waste as fuel in a small appliance (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/waste-exemption-u4-burning-of-waste-as-a-fuel-in-a-small-appliance) allows you to burn untreated wood waste in a boiler to produce heat and power

T23: aerobic composting (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/waste-exemption-t23-aerobic-composting-and-associated-prior-treatment) allows you to compost plant tissue

T6: treating waste wood and plant matter (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/waste-exemption-t6-treating-waste-wood-and-waste-plant-matter-by-chipping-shredding-cutting-or-pulverising) allows you to chip, shred, pulverise and cut untreated waste wood

You can burn waste in an incinerator under D6: disposal by incineration (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/waste-exemption-d6-disposal-by-incineration).

Contact the Environment Agency

General enquiries

National Customer Contact Centre PO Box 544RotherhamS60 1BY

Email xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)

Telephone 03708 506 506

Telephone from outside the UK (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm GMT) xx-xxxx-xxxx

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.