Derbyshire MP Jon Pearce has asked major retailers to stop selling disposable barbecues for the rest of the summer to help prevent avoidable wildfires. The Tintwistle Moor blaze near Glossop is estimated to have burned about 606 hectares (1,497 acres). Pearce is also calling for a government ban on disposable BBQ use in public spaces as England and Wales face severe drought and record wildfire activity.
MP Urges Retailers To Stop Selling Disposable BBQs For Rest Of Summer Amid Wildfire Surge
Disposable barbecues "stay hot for far too long", a fire service has warned [Getty Images]
Derbyshire MP Jon Pearce has written to the country's largest retailers asking them to stop selling disposable barbecues for the remainder of the summer in a bid to reduce the risk of avoidable wildfires.
The appeal follows multiple wildfires across the UK, including a major blaze in his High Peak constituency. Analysis by the European Forest Fire Information System, cited by BBC Verify, estimates the Tintwistle Moor fire near Glossop burned about 606 hectares (1,497 acres) — roughly equivalent to 900 football pitches. Fire crews were first called to Tintwistle Moor on 24 June, Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said.
High Peak MP Jon Pearce also called on the Government to ban disposable barbecue use in public places [UK Parliament]
Pearce, the Labour MP for High Peak, said decisive action was needed as the climate changes and hotter, drier summers make landscapes more vulnerable to fire. "If taking disposable BBQs off the shelves helps prevent even one wildfire this summer, it will have been the right decision," he said, adding that the government should ban their use in public spaces.
"We rightly spend a lot of time talking about tackling climate change, but we also have to recognise that our climate has already changed. Hotter, drier summers mean we must do far more to adapt and make our communities, countryside and emergency services more resilient to the risks we're already facing. Preventing avoidable wildfires has to be part of that response."
A prolonged heatwave and low rainfall have created conditions that allow fires to spread more easily. The Met Office warns England and Wales are on course for the driest July since records began, and authorities report that half of England and all of Wales are officially in drought.
Crews were first called to Tintwistle Moor, near Glossop in Derbyshire, on 24 June [Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service]
Fire chiefs say wildfires are becoming a "recurring and growing feature" of risks facing communities. Crews responded to 393 wildfires across England and Wales in July, the busiest month on record. The number of wildfire incidents recorded so far this year already matches the total annual figures for 2021, 2023 and 2024 combined.
Retailer Response
Several retailers have already limited or stopped sales of disposable BBQs: Aldi, Lidl, Waitrose and M&S stopped selling them in 2022. This year Co-op, Morrisons, Tesco and Home Bargains agreed not to stock disposable barbecues in stores in High Peak. After receiving Pearce's letter, Co-op and Sainsbury's confirmed they would halt sales in response.
Analysis of data from the European Forest Fire Information System by BBC Verify previously estimated that the total area burned by the fire had reached 606 hectares [BBC]
Pearce is urging all retailers across the UK to suspend sales for the rest of the summer and supports a wider government ban on disposable barbecues in public spaces to protect the environment and ease pressure on emergency services.
Why It Matters: Reducing sources of accidental ignition, such as disposable BBQs, is one practical step to lower the risk of avoidable blazes while communities and services adapt to a warmer, drier climate.
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