New Bedford, MA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in New Bedford, MA, also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance, set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Key Facts
- Burning garbage/refuse
- Prohibited citywide except municipal incinerator
- Governing section
- Code § 12-46
- Bonfire permission
- Required from infrastructure commissioner and fire chief
- Fine
- $250 per offense, § 12-47
- State backstop
- M.G.L.A. c. 111, § 31C air pollution control
Summary
New Bedford prohibits burning garbage, refuse, or any substance offensive when burned anywhere in the city under section 12-46, including by the city itself, with the sole exception of the incinerator at the municipal garbage plant. Bonfires in streets or public places separately require prior permission under section 22-4.
No person including the city, its agents and employees, shall dispose of any garbage or refuse or any substances which are offensive when burned, by burning the same anywhere within the city, except in the incinerator at the municipal garbage plant.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 19).
Full Breakdown
Section 12-46 of the litter-control article bars everyone, including the city, its agents, and employees, from disposing of garbage, refuse, or any substance offensive when burned by burning it anywhere within New Bedford, with the sole exception of the incinerator at the municipal garbage plant. c. c. 270, § 20. The code separately regulates bonfires: section 22-4 forbids making a bonfire in any street or public place unless the commissioner of public infrastructure, the fire chief, and, where applicable, the board or commission controlling that public place all grant permission first.
Read together, the two sections mean there is no lawful way to burn garbage or refuse outdoors anywhere in the city, and even a permitted bonfire in a public space needs sign-off from both the infrastructure commissioner and the fire department before it can be lit. c. 40U.
Violations & Fines
Burning garbage, refuse, or offensive material anywhere in the city other than the municipal incinerator violates section 12-46 and is punishable as a misdemeanor under section 12-47's $250-per-offense penalty, with each day of continued burning a separate offense. Lighting a bonfire in a street or public place without prior permission from the public infrastructure commissioner and fire chief violates section 22-4.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to burn garbage or leaves outdoors in New Bedford?
Can I have a bonfire in New Bedford?
What is the penalty for illegal outdoor burning in New Bedford?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Bedford
How New Bedford compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·Compare New Bedford to another location·View the Massachusetts fire regulations overview
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Outdoor Burning in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Bristol County handle outdoor burning.