Published 9 April 2024 at 17.07
EU. It is no longer permitted for Swedes to burn branches, leaves and other garden waste in their garden. This is according to a new law from the EU, which Sveriges Radio draws attention to before May Day.
Share the article
TwittraShare
The new law – which must be applied by all EU countries – means that households and businesses must have separate collection of bio-waste.
Since January 1, it has been required that branches, leaves and other garden waste be recycled.
– There are many people who don't know about it and we are getting a lot of questions about this right now, says Milla Sundström, manager at the waste and chemicals unit at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, to SR.
Anyone who is out working in the garden is therefore no longer allowed to start a fire and set fire to leaves and the like.
– Normally seen, you don't get it. It should primarily be material recycling, i.e. composting, either at home or through the municipality, says Milla Sundström.
However, there may be certain exceptions to the rule, but then you need to get approval from the municipality.
– An extreme case could be a garden out on an archipelago island. Then it might not be reasonable to collect the rice and branches and take it to a recycling centre, says Milla Sundström to SR.
She continues:
– The basic rule is that you cannot burn, but you should always check with your municipality.
However, the rule does not apply to garden waste that contains remains of the very troublesome plant parkslide in Sweden or any of the plants that are on the EU's list of invasive species, for example, rosehips.
Anyone who wants to make a fire on May Day can therefore make sure to have plenty of, for example, rosehips in the May bonfire, then it will be legal according to ch. 3. Section 1 c of the Waste Ordinance. However, it is important to be careful so that you are not guilty of “unauthorized handling of an invasive alien species”, a crime which is also based on EU legislation and which can lead to two years in prison according to the Environmental Code.