Can You Burn Yard Waste on Your Property? Check the Rules Before You Risk a $10,000 Fine

Autumn leaves are the ornamental equivalent of spring flowers, nature’s fireworks show that excites and uplifts us. We love it when the green foliage of deciduous trees turns fiery shades and – leaf by leaf – drifts gracefully down to the ground. But the next act is unfortunate: mountains of fallen leaves and other fall debris that needs to be removed from the premises.

Raking up and carting away is one way to tackle fall cleanup, but it is tedious and time-consuming. Burning is a quicker, easier alternative – one match and the deed is done. But backyard burning is subject to a complicated patchwork of state laws, municipal ordinances, seasonal fire restrictions, and air-quality regulations. A fallen-leaf bonfire can result in fines or even a criminal complaint.

So is “burn, baby, burn” an appropriate way to deal with yard waste? I can't give a definitive yes or no, but as a former attorney, I will explain the general rules about the legality of burning yard waste and the consequences you might face if you do it wrong. It's exactly the kind of legal dilemma I cover in my Gardening Lawyer series. Here are the rules to check, along with safer alternatives for disposing of garden waste.

Can You Legally Burn Yard Waste in Your Backyard?

When a landscape issue has a legal component, you're unlikely to get a definitive yes-or-no answer. Instead, these issues depend on the applicable laws and ordinances. Whether you can legally burn yard waste in your backyard in the USA depends entirely on your state, county, and city ordinances, and current weather or fire-danger conditions. You’ll want to check with all of these authorities before burning, or ask a local landscape professional.

However, there are some general rules that usually apply. These give you a general idea of the restrictions that might be in place, what you can burn, whether burning is allowed, and what you can never burn.

What Types of Restrictions Are in Place?

The laws that restrict burning yard waste are far from uniform. More cities completely ban open burning of foliage all year long. These absolute prohibitions are based on community values like air quality issues. Nobody likes to breathe smoke, and burning green waste releases icky stuff: fine particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and toxic smoke.

Some states or counties allow you to burn dry leaves and brush, but with seasonal restrictions. These may specify certain months that burning is allowed, or it might ban burning entirely during dry seasons or high winds.

Other areas allow burning but control the size of the material to be burned (for example, permitting only a 6x6 foot (2x2 m) pile). Some laws impose setback requirements to keep the fires a safe distance from buildings and roads. Still others restrict when, during a day, piles can be burned. These can be seen as safety restrictions.

Other possible safety mandates include requiring that all fires be supervised by an adult during the entire burn, having a source of water near the fire, like a connected garden hose, and a requirement that the fire be wet down and the ashes stirred when the burn is done.

What Can Be Burned?

Even if your jurisdiction allows yard waste burning, that doesn’t mean you can burn anything and everything. If the law permits you to burn yard waste, there are always restrictions on the types of materials that can be burned. Generally, a homeowner living in an “okay-to-burn” jurisdiction can only burn dry, natural vegetation from plants on your property. This will include leaves, brush, limbs, grass clippings, and clean wood.

On the negative side, you should never expect to be permitted to burn personal garbage, paper, plastics, rubber, tires, painted or treated wood, construction debris, or chemicals of any kind. These can release dangerous dioxins and furans that settle into soil and local food chains.

What Are the Consequences for Illegal Burning?

The consequences for the Illegal burning of yard waste depend on the applicable laws. In general, thumbing your nose at burn bans or restrictions can lead to severe financial, legal, and environmental consequences.

The possible penalties fall into distinct categories:

• Monetary penalties (ranging from $100 to $1,000, or, for severe violations, up to $10,000)
• Cost recovery of Fire Department costs, including engine use, personnel time, and equipment
• Misdemeanor criminal charges that can get you jail time
• Civil liability for any property damage from the fire, including all costs of fighting a wildfire that results from your burn.

What to Do With Yard Waste Instead of Burning It

Nobody wants to face these serious consequences of ignoring yard-debris burning restrictions. But you have to do something with all those leaves. What are your alternatives to burning?

If you shred fall leaves, small branches, and even grass cuttings, you can create an excellent compost. Spread this around your landscape. It will enrich your garden soil. It’s a good idea to invest in a shredder – like this Sun Joe Wood Chipper Shredder and Waste Shredding Machine – to speed up this process. You can also use shredded yard debris as eco-friendly mulch around the root area of trees and shrubs.

Many cities offer “compost” pickups the same day they take your garbage. In San Francisco, we get large green containers in which we can put any green-waste materials. They usually send these to a municipal recycling center.