UK Government Bans Disposable Barbecues Across Great Britain
The UK government has imposed a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues across Great Britain, citing a "significant risk to the public" during drought and heatwave conditions. The Department for Business, Innovation and Trade announced the prohibition on 14 August 2026, covering both in-store and online sales.
Ministers said disposable barbecues had caused "a number of serious wildfires" over the summer months. The ban applies in Great Britain — England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland's fire and land-use policy is devolved to Stormont (the Northern Ireland Assembly in Belfast) and is not covered by the measure.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham had urged shops to withdraw disposable barbecues from sale after chairing a COBRA meeting — the government's emergency response committee — on 11 August. "Britain is a tinderbox right now," he said, urging the public not to set fires in any outdoor setting. Burnham said there were 37 fires across England and Wales, four of them major incidents, though not all were linked to disposable barbecues. All retailers would receive guidance about the ban, which would be kept under review, he added.
The intervention follows sustained pressure from farmers and landowners, who called for a temporary ban in England and Wales on 4 August, warning of the risk of igniting wildfires. That call came as fire services and land managers across all three GB nations reported escalating wildfire activity through July and into August.
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service urged people not to light open fires and to avoid using disposable barbecues in rural areas, as well as to dispose of cigarettes safely, in updates published on 12 July. The service runs the #WildfireWise campaign to promote wildfire prevention in Wales.
In Scotland, Forestry and Land Scotland warned of a very high risk of wildfire in the eastern Highlands and in eastern and southern Scotland from 12 August, advising against open fires. National Parks Wales urged people to "ditch the disposable barbecue" during the heatwave, stating: "It's everyone's responsibility to protect our countryside from wildfires." Eryri National Park warns that failing to fully extinguish a barbecue, or not disposing of it properly, can increase the risk of accidental wildfires.
Local authorities and national park bodies have been moving in the same direction for some time. Dorset Council and Litter Free Dorset urged retailers to suspend disposable barbecue sales during periods of extreme heat or elevated wildfire risk, in guidance issued on 7 July. The New Forest National Park Authority has declared the New Forest a complete no-BBQ and fire zone; in March 2022 some retailers decided to nationally ban disposable barbecues in all their stores to reduce fire risk in the New Forest. Disposable barbecues are already banned in many public areas across the UK because of grass-fire risks that harm wildlife.
The London Fire Brigade's Commissioner called for a ban on disposable barbecues in July 2022, citing the significant fire risk they pose if not put out properly and their role in causing grass fires in open spaces. That call went unheeded at national level for four years. The current government's decision converts what had been a patchwork of local restrictions and voluntary retailer withdrawals into a binding, GB-wide prohibition.
The broader context here is one of growing ministerial willingness to intervene directly in retail sales on public-safety grounds. The sequence — a COBRA meeting on 11 August, a public appeal to retailers, then a formal departmental ban three days later — indicates a rapid shift from persuasion to compulsion. Burnham's decision to keep the ban "under review" leaves the door open to lifting it once conditions ease, but sets a precedent for temporary sales prohibitions tied to environmental risk.
For retailers, the guidance to come will determine how quickly they must clear shelves and amend online listings, and whether the ban covers existing stock held in warehouses. For fire services, the measure removes one ignition source from a landscape already under severe strain, though Burnham himself acknowledged that not all of the 37 fires were barbecue-related. The ban is a partial answer to a problem with multiple causes: discarded glass, carelessly extinguished campfires, and arson among them.
The devolved dimension is worth noting. The ban covers Great Britain, and while fire policy in Scotland and Wales is devolved, the Department for Business, Innovation and Trade has applied the prohibition across Great Britain in respect of retail sales. Northern Ireland, where consumer trading standards are devolved to Stormont, is not covered by this order. Whether the Executive at Stormont follows suit will depend on its own assessment of wildfire risk, which has been less acute than in GB this summer.
What remains unclear is the duration of the ban, the enforcement mechanism, and whether non-compliant retailers face penalties. The government has said only that it will be kept under review.
