Burning wood
Many of our residents have wood-burning stoves, fire pits, and fireplaces, or light up their barbecues. Burning wood provides warmth and creates a cozy atmosphere.
As cozy as a bonfire or barbecue may be, your neighbors might not be so happy about it. Some people simply find smoke unpleasant, while others have sensitive airways, asthma, or other lung conditions. They can be severely affected by wood burning. That’s why it’s important to make sure that neither you nor your neighbors are inconvenienced by wood burning.
Heating Guide
The Stookwijzer ( ) is a website that provides information about heating. The Stookwijzer provides data at the ZIP code level and takes into account air quality and wind speed.
Enter your address on the website. You will then receive advice on whether burning wood indoors or outdoors could cause a nuisance to your neighbors. If wind speeds are low, burning wood can cause health problems, and a Code Red warning is in effect. In that case, burning wood is not recommended.
"Honest About Wood Burning" Campaign
Would you like to learn more about the effects of burning wood?
The Milieu Centraal website features the latest studies: . There you can read about the health effects of wood burning. “Honest About Wood Burning” is a campaign by Milieu Centraal. Milieu Centraal was established by the government. The Ministries of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW), the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK), and Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK) are the primary funders.
Permitted without a heating exemption
Only fires used for cooking, baking, or roasting, as well as fires from candles, torches, fire pits, or a (patio) fireplace, are permitted without a fire permit. The fire must not pose a danger to the surrounding area, and others must not be inconvenienced by it. It is not permitted to burn waste materials. Additionally, for new construction and renovations, the chimney must extend at least 0.5 meters above the ridge height of the roof.
Tips for preventing smoke nuisance when burning wood
What can you do to make sure that you and your neighbors are less bothered by the smoke?
- Do not use your fireplace or wood-burning stove in calm or foggy weather, and consult the heating guide.
- Burn only dry wood.
- Do not burn treated or painted wood.
- Place small pieces of wood on top and light the fire from above.
- Have your chimney thoroughly swept at least once a year.
- Make sure there is a good supply of air. In other words, don’t let the wood smolder, and let a wood fire burn out on its own.
- Keep the ventilation grilles open while the heater is running.
- Check regularly to make sure you're burning the fire properly: a good fire has yellow, even flames and produces almost no smoke from the chimney.
For more information, visit the RIVM’s “Wood Smoke and Health” website at .
You can also find a wealth of information on the Milieucentraal website: “Heating with Wood” at .
Tips if you're bothered by smoke
The rules regarding wood burning can sometimes be unclear. There are no national regulations governing wood burning in the Netherlands. Furthermore, there are no generally accepted measurement methods. It is therefore very difficult to determine when a nuisance is occurring.
The extent to which the smoke bothers you can also depend heavily on the weather. Enforcement is difficult because there are no fixed regulations or measurement methods.
Tips:
- Have a friendly and honest conversation with the people responsible. They may not realize that the smoke is bothering you. Finding a solution together can be simple. Using a different type of wood or paying attention to the weather or wind direction can make a big difference.
- If you are unable to reach a solution on your own, you can opt for neighborhood mediation. For more information, please visit our neighborhood mediation page. A mediator will review the situation with you and your neighbors so that you can work together to find a solution.
- Although the municipality can’t do much about it, it’s good that we have an idea of how many nuisance incidents there are. You can report smoke-related nuisances to the municipality.