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Tree waste and chip rules: burning, chipping and carrying brush, place by place

How official sources describe the rules for disposing of limbs, brush, stumps and chips from tree work: open burning limits, exemptions for land clearing, and the paperwork for carrying waste. Place pages follow for England, Scotland, British Columbia and the US states of Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It gathers what air quality, waste and forestry agencies say about tree waste, meaning limbs, brush, stumps, logs, and the chips made from them.

What the pages have in common

The agencies read for this page split tree waste into the same few questions. Is open burning allowed at all, and for whom? Where must the waste have come from? Which materials are banned from a fire? What registration or paperwork applies when waste is carried to another site? Chipping and mulch appear in the sources mostly as the option other than burning.

  • In the three US states below, open burning is generally prohibited and then opened up through exceptions. Wisconsin lets households burn small amounts on their own property, Illinois allows landscape waste to be burned on the premises where it is produced, and North Carolina limits yard waste burning to vegetation from a private residence's own yard.
  • Treated, painted or glued wood is excluded from burning in the sources for Minnesota, New York, North Carolina (anything man-made) and Wisconsin.
  • Local ordinances can be stricter than state rules. The North Carolina, New York, Wisconsin and Illinois pages all say so.
  • In England the main rule for a business is registration: a waste exemption for burning or for using chip, and a carrier registration for moving waste.

Place by place

PlaceWhat the official page says
EnglandBurning plant and untreated wood waste where it was produced needs the D7 exemption for a business, with limits of 10 tonnes burned in 24 hours. Carrying waste needs carrier registration, usually free for a business moving only its own waste, otherwise GBP 191.02. See the England place page.
ScotlandSEPA position statement WAS-PS-07 lets clean plant matter and untreated wood be burned in the open where produced, up to 10 tonnes in 24 hours, and brash be chipped where it was produced. Carrying only your own waste has no fee; carrying another person's waste lists GBP 304.10 for a new registration. See the Scotland place page.
British ColumbiaB.C. Reg. 152/2019 bars moving debris for burning more than 5 km from where it originates, sets 500 m and 1,000 m distance rules, lists banned materials and sets maximum fines of CA$200,000, CA$50,000 and CA$5,000. Burn length depends on the high, medium or low smoke sensitivity zone. See the British Columbia place page.
ConnecticutOpen burning is limited to brush, meaning shrubs, vegetation or prunings no more than three inches across, on residential property of one to four dwelling units, with a signed permit from the local Open Burning Official. Burning is not allowed to clear land. See the Connecticut place page.
IllinoisThe Illinois Environmental Protection Agency says open burning is generally prohibited unless an exemption applies. It says landscape waste, including trees, tree trimmings, branches, stumps and brush, may be burned on the premises where it is produced or at sites provided and supervised by a unit of local government, except within any county with a population of more than 400,000. It says state law does not override stricter local rules. See the Illinois place page and the Illinois EPA open burning page.
IndianaOpen burning is prohibited except as the rule allows. The rule exempts burning of vegetation from a nursery or tree farm, roadside pruning wood from a county highway department and initial utility right-of-way clearing in unincorporated areas. Other clearing burns need an approval letter from the commissioner, limited to 1,000 cubic feet. See the Indiana place page.
IowaRule 567-23.2 allows landscape waste from the premises to be burned, with clearing debris at least one quarter mile from other inhabited buildings, but not in 11 named cities. Trees and tree trimmings from elsewhere may be burned only at a fenced site run by a local government. See the Iowa place page.
KentuckyRegulation 401 KAR 63:005 allows burning of natural growth from land clearing and storm-felled trees without tires or heavy oil, limited to two contiguous acres at a time for development. In the fire hazard seasons, February 15 to April 30 and October 1 to December 15, fires near woodland are barred except from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. See the Kentucky place page.
MaineNo one may burn out of doors without a permit from a town forest fire warden or forest ranger. Permitted burning includes leaves, brush, deadwood and tree cuttings from normal property maintenance, and wood wastes from clearing land. Violation is a Class E crime. See the Maine place page.
MassachusettsAny open air fire needs permission of up to two days from the forest warden or fire chief. The regulation allows brush and forestry debris to be burned from January 15 to May 1, more than 75 feet from a dwelling and between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., but not in 22 named cities and towns and not for commercial land clearing. See the Massachusetts place page.
MarylandOpen fires need a control officer permit. From June 1 through August 31 open burning is prohibited in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties and Baltimore City, with exceptions. See the Maryland page.
MichiganRule 336.1310 allows burning trees, logs, brush and stumps only outside priority I and II areas and not closer than 1,400 feet to an incorporated city or village limit, and not where local law bars it. On or next to forest land, burning other than for domestic purposes needs a Department of Natural Resources permit when the ground is not snow covered. See the Michigan place page.
MinnesotaA Minnesota Pollution Control Agency fact sheet dated January 2024 says burning permits are required for all open burning other than small recreational fires, and are issued by the Department of Natural Resources or its delegates. It says that in general only vegetative debris (brush, logs, stumps, grass, leaves) and clean wood that was never treated, painted or stained can be burned with a permit. See the Minnesota place page and the MPCA solid waste fact sheet.
New YorkThe Department of Environmental Conservation says open burning is regulated under Part 215. Downed limbs and branches under 6 inches in diameter and 8 feet in length may be burned on site in towns with a population under 20,000, except from March 16 through May 14. Burning large piles of brush collected from residents at town or county transfer sites is prohibited. See the New York place page and the DEC open burning page.
New HampshireRule Env-A 1001.05 lets a land owner burn brush, meaning tree cuttings of 5 inches or less across, on commercial or residential property without department authorization if it comes from the site, or from another residential property and is not carried by a commercial entity. The wood of construction and demolition debris and tires may not be burned. See the New Hampshire place page.
North CarolinaOnly vegetation may be burned, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and on Code Green or Yellow air quality days. Fines of up to US$25,000. See the North Carolina place page.
OhioChapter 3745-19 splits land into restricted areas (inside municipalities plus a zone of 1,000 feet or one mile beyond) and unrestricted areas. In unrestricted areas residential or agricultural waste from the premises may be burned at least 1,000 feet from other inhabited buildings; land clearing waste needs written Ohio EPA permission or an air curtain burner. See the Ohio place page.
OregonRule 340-264-0060 makes the land owner, the owner of the material and anyone who causes the burning strictly liable, bars burning wet garbage, plastics and petroleum material, and requires a DEQ letter permit to burn debris removed from the property of origin. See the Oregon place page.
PennsylvaniaSection 129.14 bars open burning in the named air basins. Outside them burning may not send visible emissions or detectable odour past the property line. Clearing and grubbing wastes may be burned in a basin only with approved air curtain destructors, for approval periods of up to 3 months. See the Pennsylvania place page.
TennesseeRule 1200-03-04-.03 prohibits open burning except as rule .04 exempts it. Fires of only vegetation grown on the burn site are exempt. Fires of vegetation and untreated manufactured lumber must be at least one half mile from airports, hospitals, schools, highways, parks, forests and occupied structures, with a written certificate sent ten working days ahead. Tires, rubber, plastics and asphalt roofing may not be burned. See the Tennessee place page.
TexasSection 111.201 bans outdoor burning except as the subchapter allows. Section 111.209 allows on-site burning of trees, brush and branch trimmings by the property owner when the material comes only from that property, with an extra limit in nonattainment counties. Burning must be outside city limits unless an ordinance allows it, and start no earlier than one hour after sunrise. See the Texas place page.
VermontNo one kindles a fire in the open air to burn natural wood, brush, weeds or grass without permission from the town forest fire warden, who issues a written Permit to Kindle. After cutting forest growth, slash is removed for 50 feet from a public highway or an adjoining woodlot boundary and 100 feet from standing buildings on adjoining property. See the Vermont place page.
VirginiaBetween February 15 and April 30, fires in or within 300 feet of woodland or dry grass are barred except between 4:00 p.m. and midnight. Open burning of clearing debris is prohibited from May 1 through September 30. See the Virginia place page.
WashingtonResidential and land clearing burning are barred in nonattainment areas, urban growth areas and cities over 10,000 people, and where a reasonable alternative exists. The Department of Natural Resources does not permit burning of land clearing debris. See the Washington place page.
WisconsinOpen burning is generally prohibited. Households may burn small amounts of dry yard waste on their own property, and businesses may not burn clean wood waste without a woodburning facility license. See the Wisconsin place page.
Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland, other Canadian provinces, other US statesNo official page found on October 8, 2026.

Chips and mulch

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says wood waste chippers can sell chipped wood as landscaping mulch, boiler fuel, animal bedding and erosion control material. England's U1 exemption lists woodchip among the materials usable to build a track, path or bridleway.

Tree waste and chip rules, place by place

Sources