GMM wrote:

So....What's the best arrangement for burnign garden waste? Obviously,
it needs a bit of time to dry out first, but this can be reduced by
getting a good blaze going. My first thought was/is a galvanised
incinerator bin but before I get one, I thought someone here might have
some insight.

One of my neighbours has one, I think it's the only one in the 500 or
so properties here. After enjoying the fruits of its operation, I've
come to the conclusion that it isn't an 'incinerator', it's a
'pyroliser'. 'Incinerators' run at 1000 degrees with maximum airflow
through the mass. The output is mostly CO2 and water vapour.

'Pyrolisers' run at much lower temperatures, and by dint of having
only a few 1" diameter air-holes at the base, and a very short chimney
in the lid, they decompose the mass under heat essentially in the
absence of oxygen, the output being a random collection of smoke and a
gazillion organic compounds that smell bad, cling to clothes and
furniture, and irritate eyes and lungs. Due to the lack of combustion,
a modest amount of mass in the pyroliser can smoulder for days, with
the potential to cause annoyance all the way to next weekend's
reload. His young children will doubtless continue to enjoy the
delights of a now dioxin-contaminated garden as the weather
improves.

The last time he used it, to burn some tannelised timber (which
contains arsenic), we had to ask him to put it out as the smell was
getting past the closed windows, doors, and vents. On the hottest day
of the year. We're thinking of moving.

--
Terry Fields