Temporary ban on sale of disposable BBQs over wildfire risk
Government issues a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbeques as they pose a "significant risk to the public".
A temporary prohibition on the retail of disposable barbecues has been enacted by the government, citing a "significant risk to the public" amid the prevailing drought and heatwave, as per official online guidance.
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade stated that these products have been responsible for "a number of serious wildfires across the country over the summer months." The department further declared that disposable barbecues "cannot be considered a safe product" under current circumstances and "must not be made available for sale either in store or online at the current time" throughout Great Britain.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham urged caution, telling the BBC, "Britain is a tinderbox right now." Burnham confirmed that all retailers would receive instructions regarding the new measure, which will be subject to ongoing review.
Speaking with Matt Chorley on BBC Radio 5 Live, the Prime Minister revealed, "We've got 37 fires across England and Wales right now, four of them are major incidents." While not all fires were attributed to disposable barbecues, Burnham noted, "it's probable that some of them have been caused in that way."
He continued, "We're going into a difficult weekend, please just think about the situation that we're in. Britain is a tinderbox right now. Setting a fire in any outdoor setting of any kind is a risk to other people's homes, it's a risk to other people's lives, don't do it, please don't do it."
The possibility of this temporary ban was deliberated during an emergency Cobra meeting held on Wednesday.
Prior to this government mandate, several major retailers and supermarkets had already voluntarily ceased selling these items. This was in accordance with a framework established in 2023 between fire chiefs and the British Retail Consortium, which stipulated that retailers should halt sales when an extreme heat event is declared imminent or in response to "reasonable, evidence based" requests from local authorities.