The 23rdJune is St. John's Eve a night rooted in ancient traditions. In olden times a fire was lit at sunset and had to be watched and tended until early morning. Traditionally fires were built using wood and straw, however in more recent years some bonfires are built using waste materials including mattresses, tyres, sofas etc.
In the lead up to St John's Night, Donegal County Council is asking local communities not to provide materials for bonfires. Suzanne Bogan, Waste Awareness Officer with the Council states that “while traditionally wood and straw were used on bonfires in recent times materials such as tyres, mattresses, furniture, plastics, metal etc are burned on bonfires. This type of activity is illegal. It is also an offence to supply waste materials to parties collecting for ‘Bonfire Night’. The burning of waste such as rubber, aerosols, plastics, foam, mattresses, couches and household waste material in bonfires is very damaging to our health and environment. When waste materials are burned on a bonfire harmful dioxins are created and released into the air that we breathe."
She added “Donegal County Council is currently monitoring a number of locations where waste materials have been supplied as bonfire material in the past.”
Bonfires can also very often be built close to houses and other property and can cause serious damage and injuries particularly where the burning of highly combustible materials is taking place.
The Council is currently running ½ Price Bulky Goods promotions across its 6 Recycling Centres in partnership with Bryson Recycling funded under the 2023 Anti-Dumping Initiative. The intention of this initiative is to promote responsible waste disposal of large bulky items. To find out more information about this offer visit
https://www.donegalcoco.ie/services/environment/recyclingcentres/ .
Tips for a safe St John's Night:
