The confusion comes from the government’s new rules regarding waste management that came into force at the turn of the year. The rules are a consequence of new EU directives, but the government’s wording has created confusion in the country’s municipalities – which are the ones responsible for ensuring that the rules are followed.
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The fire ban – this applies in Stockholm
In Kungsbacka, the municipality has already changed its mind. At first it was no, but last week it was announced that yes, you can burn garden waste. But not leaves. Now it says that “you can burn dry garden waste that cannot be composted, for example rice, twigs and branches.” Leaves can, however, be composted, it is pointed out.
Many municipalities have, both before and after the new rules, so-called fire weeks. In Stockholm, with reference to the new rules, it is “permitted to burn dry garden waste” during week 18, on Valborgsmässo eve and week 40.
A similar arrangement applies in Västerås where the principle is no to burning, but some weeks okay, 16–18 and 40–42 to be precise. In Helsingborg, the weeks 16, 17, 40 and 41 apply.
In Linköping, the rules in this regard are being updated now.
“It will hopefully come during the day,” says Fredrik Skaghammar, the municipality’s environmental manager.
— Otherwise, the principle is that if you are going to set fire, you must have reported it to the emergency services. This also applies to private individuals, he continues.
Fires allowed in Gothenburg
In Gothenburg, burning is permitted as long as it does not “cause problems for nearby residents due to, for example, smoke, odors and soot flakes.”
In Gothenburg, it is also important to keep track of the size of the sticks in the fire. “Branches thicker than four centimeters in diameter are also not assessed as garden waste, but as clearance waste,” it says on the municipality’s website.
Bonfires are not allowed in Malmö. The municipality’s website states that it is “no longer permitted to burn branches, leaves or other garden waste.” Burning is prohibited from 1 April to 30 September. Anyone who wants to organize a May bonfire in the country’s third largest city can, for a fee, apply for an exemption for it. A dispensation is also required in Jönköping, for those who want to burn garden waste. However, burning last year’s grass does not require an exemption, but it is: “not allowed to collect the grass in a pile and then burn it.”
In Uppsala, there is a no to burning garden waste, with reference to the new rules. The same applies in Örebro.
So the May bonfire can be threatened by the new law
Here you can read more about the new laws that came into force on 1 January 2024.