Outdoor burning

Outdoor burning rules

Tasman District Council has outdoor burning rules in the Tasman Resource Management Plan (TRMP) to manage discharges into the environment from outdoor burning, including minimising the adverse effects of smoke, smell, and particulates (see Part 6: Discharges – Rule 36.3). The TRMP identifies fire-ban areas and fire-sensitive areas in our district.

Check the TRMP planning maps to find out whether you are in one of these areas.

For safety reasons, Fire and Emergency New Zealand may also require you to obtain a fire permit for outdoor burning in some parts of the district.

Fire ban areas – Richmond and Motueka, and the foreshore of the beach

Aside from a few exceptions, all outdoor burning in the Fire Ban Areas is generally prohibited all year around. This includes the use of drum incinerators and the burning of vegetation and garden waste. However, between October to April (inclusive), in some circumstances, you can burn vegetation on large properties (over 5000m²/0.5 ha) subject to obtaining resource consent. 

Fire Sensitive Areas – the outskirts of Richmond and Motueka, and the urban areas of all other townships

Outdoor burning is restricted between June to August (inclusive) in all settlements where the Fire Sensitive Area applies. During these winter months, you can only burn diseased horticultural waste for biosecurity purposes, or use a forge or kiln. You may also be allowed to burn non-diseased horticultural waste during these months subject to obtaining resource consent.

Between September to May (inclusive) you can burn outdoors as long as you comply with the rules in the TRMP (see the link above) and use good burning practices as outlined below.

All other areas

You can burn outdoors in other areas of the district if you comply with the rules in the TRMP and use good burning practices as outlined below. Even where outdoor burning is permitted, you must not cause odour, smoke or ash deposits that are offensive or objectionable over your property boundary.

General requirements for all outdoor burning

If you intend to light a fire outdoors anywhere in Tasman District you must comply with the following criteria:

• The property where the fire is lit must not be in the Fire Ban Area at any time, or Fire Sensitive Area (between June and August inclusive);
• Only dry vegetation (from no more than three adjoining properties), paper and cardboard may be burnt;
• No offensive or objectionable nuisance smoke, odour or ash is to cross the property boundary;
• Any horticultural waste burning must also be carried out with best practice to minimise any smoke;
• Smoke must not reduce traffic visibility or visibility on any public amenity area;
• No burning of municipal, domestic, industrial or trade waste or plastic;
• No burning of tree stumps;
• Farm plastics, including agrichemical containers and silage wrap must not be burnt. Recycling programmes operated by AgRecovery (for agrichemical containers) and Plasback (balewrap and silage sheeting) offer alternatives to burying or burning this type of plastic.

Download the Good Practice Guide to Outdoor Burning. (pdf 468 KB)