UK bans sales of disposable barbecues amid wildfires, drought
The United Kingdom has announced a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues amid drought and heatwave.
In a statement on Friday, the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade said single-use grills have caused several serious wildfires across the country over the summer months.
“Disposable barbecues cannot be considered a safe product in the context of the ongoing weather and environmental conditions and must not be made available for sale either in store or online at the current time,” the department stated.
The announcement came amid extreme conditions, including heatwaves, drought and wildfires, exacerbated by climate change, across the UK.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said disposable barbecues started some of the wildfires burning across the country.
“All retailers will be receiving guidance today, asking them to withdraw them from sale. We’ve got 37 fires across England and Wales right now, four of them are major incidents.
“I can’t on this call today say to you that all of them are down to disposable barbecues; they’re not, and I wouldn’t claim that. But it’s probable that some of them have been caused in that way,” he stated.
Mr Burnham, who acknowledged the wildfires’ impact on families, promised support for those affected.
“You know, it’s just unbelievably devastating for people in this position. So that’s why I’m here. I just wanted to show that, you know, we’re on the ground.
“We understand how difficult this is for everybody, and we will put in place the support to help people get back to where they should be as soon as possible,” he added.
The update came after the UK Health Security Agency disclosed that an estimated 2,877 people died as a result of intense heatwaves between May and June, with 2026 likely to record the highest number of heat-associated deaths on record in the UK.
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