disposal of domestic fire ash

Wavey

Hi,
Does anyone know of any options for disposal of domestic fire ash ( coal & some turf) At the moment I just send it to landfill, but I'd like to avoid that if I can, every little helps.
Thanks

Typedef

Turf ash should be quite good for your garden, since it contains potassium.

Coal on the other hand would be just plain bad.

So if you burnt seperate Turf-Coal fires at least you could use the Turf ash as fertilizer.

Quest

And wood ash is actually good for your garden - as long as you don't overdo it.

Anyone know whether ash from a wood and briquette fire is okay to put into the soil? I know coal ash is damaging but not sure what the story is with briquettes.

Thanks!

Maglight

My mum used to empty the ash bucket every day on a dip in a hedge at the side of the garden. Over the winter it would build up into a small mound and then in the spring she emptied a couple of packets of nasturtium seeds onto it. They grew and flowered over the summer and put roots through the ash, thereby making it more solid. Over the course of about 10 years she gradually built up that dip until it was even with the rest of the ground and then she planted it.

doctor evil

Was that wood or coal ash Maglight?

Coal wash won't give any benefit to the soil but I'm not it will totally destroy.

I just spread the wood & turf ashes along the hedges, a different section each time. By the time I get back to the start, the previous tippings have washed into the ground.

Micheal GIY

Same here, wood and turf ash spread on the soil, but any time I had coal on the go I would bin the ash.

Cork boy 55

This is from a thread in garden forum

coal is a definite no-no, especially if you're using the ash near where you'd grow food. coal has heavy metals in it, so it definitely is toxic.
Here's a list of ashes which can and can't be used in the Garden.
1. Wood products can (pellets, wood logs, reconstituted products (for example Ecoflame logs), BBQ charcoal).
2. Peat, turf and BNM Briquettes can.
3. Coal of any type can't (Lignite, Bituminous, Anthracite etc...) these contain heavy metals and can contaminate soil and food.
4. Waste products (rubbish etc) cannot. These contain fragments of unburned waste and also heavy metals.

T-Maxx

Brown bin FTW.

Of course this ZOMBIE THREAD was started prior to the brown bins, green as well IIRC.

cudsy1

Bump. I don't have a brown bin. I have ash with some coal in it. Best course of action?

Quest

Unfortunately if there's some coal in it, it can't go in your garden. What I do now is make sure it's completely cold (obviously if in any doubt, leave it somewhere away from anything that can catch fire until you're sure) then I put it in a paper shopping bag and add put it in my general waste bin. It's a real pity there isn't a better option.

I do try to reduce the amount of ash I have by putting the ash from under my stove back on top of the fire in the evening, making sure it's good and hot - this burns down some of the cinders that would otherwise just get added to your waste ash. Not sure how this would work if you have an open fire though.

cudsy1

thanks very much

Day Lewin

At least in the landfill it is relatively inert, in my opinion. Won't rot, or anything.

After all, coal and metals came out of the ground originally:
there may be some leaching into groundwater from any landfill, but modern waste management systems take this into account and I'm assuming they make provision for this.

Quest

Very true.

Then there's the small matter of paying for the heavy ash in the landfill waste...

Gall88

Don't most bin companies say not to put ashes of any kind in the compost bin?

magicbastarder

i do recall bins having 'no hot ashes' stamped on them, not sure about guidance on cold ash.