Can I burn leaves in my garden in Czechia?
No — since 1 March 2025 burning leaves, grass and garden waste in open fires is banned nationwide. The Air Protection Act amendment also scrapped the old municipal exceptions, so "burning days" no longer exist and you cannot fall back on a permission from the town hall. Violations cost individuals up to CZK 50,000, businesses up to 500,000. Where the bio-waste goes instead: the brown bin, the collection yard (municipalities must provide year-round collection) or your compost. Recreational fires stay legal — a campfire or sausage roast burning dry, uncontaminated wood. And that is exactly the trap: throwing leaves on the campfire breaches the ban, even though the fire itself is legal.
📋 The rules
- Since 1 Mar 2025: nationwide ban on burning plant waste (leaves, grass, tops)
- No municipal exceptions — burning days are over
- Fine: up to CZK 50,000 (individuals), up to 500,000 (businesses)
- Recreational fires legal: dry, clean wood (campfire, BBQ)
- Bio-waste: brown bin, collection yard, compost
🔓 Exceptions
- Campfires/BBQ with dry wood — outside the ban (mind drought bans and the 50 m forest rule)
- Forestry brushwood burning in forests: its own regime with fire-service notification
- Droughts and proximity to forest: even a legal campfire can be banned — no fire within 50 m of a forest
⚠️ Penalties & fines
For burning garden waste the municipal office or the environmental inspectorate can fine an individual up to CZK 50,000, and a business up to 500,000. Nor does it help that the municipality used to allow it: since 1 March 2025 it may no longer grant exceptions and burning days are over. The second layer is neighbour law: smoke rolling over the fence is nuisance beyond what is reasonable under § 1013 of the Civil Code, so alongside the fine you risk a lawsuit. In droughts, or within 50 m of a forest, even an ordinary campfire may be banned.
📎 Official sources
- Dostupný advokát · Burning grass and leaves — the rules (CS) →
- Deník.cz · Bio-waste burning: rules and fines (CS) →
- EnviWeb · The ban vs. sausage roasting (CS) →
❓ Frequently asked
Does the ban really apply everywhere?
Yes, nationwide since 1 March 2025 and without exceptions. The Air Protection Act amendment no longer lets municipalities grant burning days, so a permission from earlier years is worthless. Councils cannot grant exemptions.
Can I still have a campfire?
Yes, a recreational fire of dry, uncontaminated wood remains legal. What you may not do is dispose of leaves and garden waste on it — that turns the campfire into banned bio-waste burning, with a fine of up to CZK 50,000.
Where do the leaves go?
Into the brown bio-bin, to the collection yard (municipalities must provide year-round bio-waste collection) or onto your own compost. Compost is the cheapest option, and the leaves come back as fertiliser.
What about dry pruned branches?
Dry wood on a campfire passes, because that is a recreational fire of wood. Mass-burning prunings as waste crosses the line — chip them or haul them to the collection yard instead. Burning days no longer exist.
My neighbour burns leaves. What can I do?
Call the municipal office or the environmental inspectorate: it is an air-law violation with a fine of up to CZK 50,000. If the smoke nuisance is repeated, a neighbour lawsuit under § 1013 of the Civil Code is also open to you.
🔎 Common searches
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