Domestic burning
- Conservative Environment Network
- 8 hours ago
- 5 min read
Poor air quality is the largest environmental risk to health in the UK, impacting human wellbeing, the natural environment, and the economy. Human-made air pollution causes up to 43,000 premature deaths per year, in addition to increasing the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular disease. This reduces productivity and participation in the workforce, costing the UK economy £27 billion annually.
Domestic burning, including wood and “smokeless fuels”, is a major contributor to air pollution. Domestic burning is the largest source of polluting particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrograms (PM2.5) in the UK, equalling 29% of all PM2.5 emissions. PM2.5 is the most damaging type of air pollution, as fine particles can enter the lungs and bloodstream.
The Government has introduced a series of policies to clean up domestic burning, alongside a series of legally binding air pollution targets. This includes information campaigns on safe burning practices and strict regulations on the types of stoves that can be sold. Additionally, the Environment Act 2021 banned the sale of the most polluting fuels.
Context:
Indoor air pollution presents an acute threat to human health as people spend between 80-90% of their lives indoors. Some types of pollution are higher inside than outside, with sources and concentrations varying greatly within buildings, and are exacerbated by poor ventilation. Health-related costs of wood stoves are 40 times higher than a gas boiler, equalling roughly £1 billion in health costs per year. Even short-term exposure to air pollution leads to acute health outcomes, with domestic burning being responsible for nearly half the cancer risk caused by urban air pollution.
Wood-burning stoves have become increasingly trendy. In recent years, wood burning has become a “middle-class status symbol”, leading to a 40% increase in purchases of wood burners between 2021-22. 28% of households say they burn wood or solid fuels for aesthetic purposes, with 18% saying they burn because it’s traditional, with the majority coming from affluent households. This trend has led to the relative proportion of national PM2.5 emissions from domestic wood burning increasing by 35% from 2010 to 2020.
Domestic burning is increasingly contributing to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution. PM2.5 is particularly harmful to humans due to its small size, meaning it can be easily inhaled and enter the bloodstream and lungs, increasing the risk of cancer and other illnesses. Since 2011, there has been a 124% increase in the amount of PM2.5 emissions from home wood burning, with research showing that people consistently underrate the impact of wood burning on PM2.5 air pollution compared to other sources.
People burn wood and other solid fuels for a range of reasons. These vary from practical and ecological reasons to economic or aesthetic ones. Wood burning is often seen as an affordable heating option. However, wood burners are almost always more expensive than other forms of central heating, with the annual cost of using an existing wood burner being 15% higher than a gas boiler. Additionally, Wood burning is the most polluting way to heat your home. Roughly 1.1 million UK homes are not connected to the gas grid, yet 1.5 million homes burn wood, with approximately 400,000 households burning coal and other solid fuels.
Despite new regulations, “ecostoves” still produce significant air pollution. Ecodesign 2022 introduced new standards to lower air pollution from wood-burning stoves by setting stricter efficiency and emission standards that apply to the whole country. However, well-dried wood, burned in “ecostoves”, produces two orders of magnitude less air pollution than wet wood burned in an older stove.
Domestic burning is a rural and urban challenge whose consequences are often underestimated. Many people overestimate the quality of air inside their homes, with research demonstrating that 1 in 10 people are aware that domestic burning is a major cause of damaging air pollution. Over twice as many people who burn doors live in urban areas as in rural areas.
Air quality in the UK has continually improved year on year since 1990. All of the key pollutants, bar ammonia, have fallen by over 70%. However, 29% of particulate matter in air pollution is from domestic wood burning. Therefore, more must be done to increase public understanding of the risks of domestic burning and how to minimise them.
Government action to reduce air pollution from domestic burning:
The Government has set a series of legally binding targets to reduce air pollution. The Environment Act 2021 set a legally binding target to reduce population exposure to PM2.5 by 35% in 2040, compared to 2018 levels. It also set a legally binding target to require a maximum annual mean concentration of 10 micrograms of PM2.5 by 2040. This was complemented by the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) 2023, which set an interim target to reduce PM2.5 exposure by 22% by the end of January 2028. The EIP also states that the Government is not considering a ban on domestic burning in England.
Local authorities can implement Smoke Control Areas. Local authorities can declare part of their area a “Smoke Control Areas” (SCA) where households are not allowed to release smoke from their chimney and can only burn authorised fuels in an exempt appliance. Those who violate these rules receive a fine. Smoke control areas were introduced in the 1956 Clean Air Act following the Great Smog of 1952.
The Government increased the penalties for violating air pollution rules. The Environment Act 2021 made it a civil offence to breach a SCA, so local authorities can easily issue fines of £300 for emitting substantial amounts of smoke or £1000 for buying unauthorised fuel. Criminal prosecutions can be pursued for the most persistent offenders with fines of up to £5000 plus £2500 for every day a breach continues afterwards. However, these fines can be difficult to enforce for local authorities. Between September 2023 and August 2024, only four fines were issued in SCA despite 5600 complaints. Therefore, local authorities need more support to enforce penalties when illegal burning takes place and raise public awareness of the risks.
A public awareness campaign surrounding the impact of domestic burning on air quality was launched. In 2020, DEFRA launched the “Burn Better Campaign” to raise awareness and encourage better burning practices. The campaign supports households who burn domestically to switch to cleaner fuels, chimney sweep, and upgrade their appliances. “Burn Better” was part of the Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) Regulations developed to meet the UK’s international obligations on transboundary pollutants. However, more needs to be done to increase awareness of the consequences of domestic burning and to actively promote cleaner alternatives, as 12% of households were unaware of the level of seasoning on the wood they were burning.
Regulation of fuel stocks has been increased and simplified. The “Ready to Burn” certification scheme states that all wood sold in volumes of under 2m³ must have a moisture content of 20% or less. This is because wet wood burning produces 75% more pollution than dry wood. Nevertheless, DEFRA research showed that 46% of stove users in a smoke control area did not know if their solid fuel stove was approved for use. Therefore, when sellers and suppliers sell wood, they should inform the consumer about smoke control legislation. Additionally, introducing a simplified system where only authorised fuels can be generally sold would help to remove the layer of confusion and burning of the wrong fuels in smoke-controlled areas.
Implementing better waste management to reduce high levels of air pollution from the burning of waste wood. Burning waste produces high levels of air pollution, including arsenic. This is concerning as 51% households with indoor burners say they burn waste wood despite it being illegal in Smoke Control Areas. Therefore, given the complexities around enforcing Smoke Control Areas, local authorities should provide the cheap and easy disposal of waste wood by organising waste pickups for households or local drop-off points. This also supports the circular economy.
Comments