MP pushes for disposable BBQ ban in Parliament

Last week Selaine Saxby, MP for North Devon, presented a 10 Minute Rule Bill to the House proposing a ban on the use of disposable BBQs on open moorland, beaches, in AONBs and other areas of environmental significance.

The hot and dry conditions the UK saw this summer threw a stark light on disposable BBQs and the damage they can cause. Fires, such as the one at Baggy Point over the August Bank Holiday weekend, are one of the most significant risks posed by disposable BBQs. The Baggy Point fire burnt 20 acres of environmentally significant gorseland and took 70 firefighters a whole day to put out.

These BBQs also injure children and animals as they reach such high temperatures that the ground and sand beneath them heat up significantly. These injuries can require skin grafts and lengthy stays in hospital to treat.

In her speech Ms Saxby highlighted that alongside damaging our local environments these products are incredibly hard to dispose of. Whilst manufacturers advertise that each component is recyclable they can reach temperatures of 400 degrees centigrade, and take hours to cool down. This summer a disposable BBQ spontaneously relit in the back of a bin lorry, and put frontline workers at risk.

Selaine Saxby, MP for North Devon, said: "I was already concerned about the risks posed by disposable BBQs, when one caused a significant fire on Baggy Point. It is devastating to see the damage to the environmentally significant gorseland and the variety of species that live there, which will take decades to recover from.

"I am not seeking to ban the Great British BBQ, but for there to be greater recognition of the risks these disposable BBQs pose as we face hotter and drier weather. Countries such as France, the United States, and Australia (the home of the BBQ) have already banned them. We cannot continue to allow the right to scald a sausage anywhere, cause so much damage and destruction, and cost so much to our vital public services dealing with disposable BBQ debris. The time to act is now.

"I would like to thank Keep Britain Tidy for their help as I prepared this Bill for the Chamber, and the work they are doing to raise awareness with their #BanTheFlamingThings campaign. As an MP I think it is crucial to use the tools available to me to highlight the level of concern around these products and try to bring about change. I hope to be able to take the Bill further at the second reading on Friday 20th January 2023.”

Allison Ogden-Newton, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: “It’s time to dispose of so-called 'disposable' barbecues. We are facing a climate crisis and we need to act now to cut the risks. 'Disposable' barbecues pose a very real threat to nature and people. This year we lost a tragic 77 square miles of some of our most valuable green space to wildfires set by, amongst other fire starters, 'disposable' barbecues.

"We are delighted that Selaine Saxby MP has taken the crucial step of introducing her Bill, which has the potential to make a real difference by limiting the use of these ecological disasters in key areas. We now hope that the Government takes responsibility to put protections into law and make sure that the fires that defined the summer 2022 are never repeated."