The government has banned every supermarket, high street store and online retailer from selling disposable barbecues. Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the temporary law change following an emergency Cobra meeting convened in the wake of the ongoing drought and a spate of fires and wildfires across the UK.
Retailers affected by the ban
The ban applies to all retailers, including Aldi, Amazon, Morrisons, Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's. The Office for Product and Safety Standards (OPSS) made the announcement today, stating that single-use grills "have been the cause of a number of serious wildfires across the country over the summer months".
Government advice published online added: "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."
Enforcement and penalties
Any retailer found continuing to sell the disposable barbecues could face "criminal sanctions", the government said. Although the rule change is described as temporary, there is not yet any given date for which the new rules will end.
The OPSS said in the announcement: "These statutory guidelines are made by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade." They must be taken into account by retailers and distributors of disposable barbecues in ensuring they do not supply products that they know or ought to know to be dangerous, in line with their legal requirements under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSR) as it applies in Great Britain (GB).
"The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), as the UK's national product regulator, and Local Authority Trading Standards, have powers to enforce the GPSR and there are sanctions, including criminal sanctions, for those that do not comply with the requirements."
Ongoing review
The guidelines will be kept under review and withdrawn as weather conditions change sufficiently to significantly reduce the risks. The government considers that the supply and subsequent foreseeable use of disposable barbecues poses a significant risk to the public and the environment during the current drought and heatwave conditions.
