Climate change is a huge problem globally, with many factors contributing to the planet’s rise in temperatures, rise in sea levels, drought, and adverse weather, including wildfires. Some believe that burning agricultural waste on farmland is contributing to these negative effects, but that is false, particularly in the UK.
This is because the burning of most agricultural waste was banned in England in 2006 and later banned in Scotland in 2019. UK farmland gathers a range of waste materials, including:
Plastics
Straw
Stubble
Hedge trimmings
Plant waste
Crop residues To rid these materials from their farmland, UK farmers must arrange for them to be disposed of in a legal way. It is not against the law for farmers to burn hedges and plant waste, but they must apply to the relevant governing bodies for an exemption. If granted, farmers can only burn these materials on the land where it was produced, and they cannot burn more than 10 tonnes in a day.
To farm livestock, it is inevitable that there will be a level of waste, but due to the restrictions mentioned, it is very rare for farmers to burn these materials. Therefore, the myth that this process contributes to climate change is unfounded.