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A stove will accept anything that fits through the door, which is why the list of things that must not go in one is worth having explicitly. EPA publishes it, and it is longer than the usual “no rubbish” that most households assume.
Key figures
- below 20 percent EPA target moisture for firewood before burning
- at least six months Minimum seasoning before checking firewood moisture, EPA
The list
EPA’s Burn Wise guidance names these:
- Household rubbish, including cardboard, plastics, foam and anything printed with coloured ink.
- Coated, painted or pressure-treated wood.
- Plywood, particle board, or any glued wood.
- Ocean driftwood.
- Wet, rotted, diseased or mouldy wood.
- Plastic, asbestos, rubber, manure and animal remains.
And for lighting a fire: use newspaper, dry kindling or natural firestarters, and never gasoline, kerosene or charcoal starter fluid.
Why each group matters
Treated and painted wood. Preservatives and coatings are designed to survive weather; heat releases them into the flue gases and into the room when the door is opened. Pressure-treated timber in particular is not something to breathe or to spread on a garden as ash.
Plywood, particle board and glued wood. The adhesives burn dirty and deposit heavily in the flue, and the ash is not something you want in a vegetable bed.
Ocean driftwood. Salt is the issue. Burning it produces corrosive compounds that attack a stove and a flue from the inside, and driftwood is often soaked besides.
Plastics, foam and coloured print. These are the fastest route to a black flue and to an indoor air problem, and they are the classic cause of a complaint from a neighbour.
Wet, rotted or mouldy wood. It smoulders instead of burning, which is precisely how creosote forms, and mould spores in a woodshed are their own problem.
Rubbish generally. Beyond the chemistry, burning household waste is illegal in many places, and enforcement usually starts with a neighbour and a photograph of the chimney.
The catalytic exception, which is not an exception
If your stove has a catalytic combustor, the same list applies with more force. Catalysts are poisoned by the compounds in rubbish, treated wood and plastics, and EPA notes a combustor can last more than six seasons with proper use or break down in as little as two if the stove is misused. A few weeks of burning scrap can cost you the part.
Cardboard deserves a specific mention, because it feels like paper and is on the list. Printed and coated cardboard burns dirty, and large pieces flare unpredictably, throwing burning fragments up the flue. If you need to start a fire, use plain newspaper or a purpose-made firestarter, not the packaging from a delivery.
What to do with the things you cannot burn
- Builders’ offcuts: the tip or a skip, separated where your local authority requires it.
- Pressure-treated timber: never burned, and disposed of according to local rules, because the ash is hazardous.
- Cardboard and paper: recycling, which most areas collect.
- Rotten or mouldy wood: compost heap or green waste rather than the stove.
- Driftwood: decoration, if you like it, and nothing else.
The habits that go with a clean burn
- Dry wood only, below 20 percent moisture and seasoned at least six months.
- Hot, bright fires rather than damped-down smouldering.
- Kindling and paper to start, never a liquid accelerant.
- Watch the chimney occasionally from outside during a burn. After the first ten minutes there should be little visible smoke; a steady plume means something is wrong with the fuel or the technique.
- Keep the door closed except when loading, which is EPA’s guidance and also what keeps the firebox hot.
Related reading: Where to Put the Woodpile, and Why It Matters and How to Burn So the Chimney Stays Clean.
Questions people ask
Can I burn scrap wood in a wood stove?
Not if it is coated, painted, pressure-treated, plywood, particle board or glued, all of which are on EPA's do-not-burn list. Clean, untreated offcuts of solid timber are a different matter, though they burn fast and are best used as kindling.
Why can't you burn driftwood?
Salt. Burning salt-laden wood produces corrosive compounds that attack the stove and the flue, which is why ocean driftwood appears on EPA's list of materials not to burn.
Is it safe to burn cardboard in a stove?
No. EPA lists household rubbish including cardboard, plastics, foam and materials printed with coloured ink. Cardboard burns dirty and can throw burning fragments into the flue. Use newspaper or a natural firestarter instead.
What should I use to light a wood stove?
Newspaper, dry kindling or natural firestarters. EPA's guidance is explicit that gasoline, kerosene and charcoal starter fluid should never be used to start a fire in a stove or fireplace.
Where these figures come from
- Best Wood-Burning Practices US Environmental Protection Agency, Burn Wise · epa.gov
- Choosing the Right Wood-Burning Stove US Environmental Protection Agency, Burn Wise · epa.gov
- Wood Smoke and Your Health US Environmental Protection Agency, Burn Wise · epa.gov
Figures last checked September 2026.
