Amsterdam has expanded restrictions on public barbecuing as part of a broader campaign to reduce wood smoke, improve air quality and limit nuisance in city parks.
The measures form part of the Beleidskader Houtstook Amsterdam, the city’s wood-burning policy framework, which the city council adopted on September 17, 2025 after a public consultation.
As part of that framework, the municipality is examining the installation of electricity points in parks and green spaces so that people can cook outdoors without charcoal. The study, which runs through 2026, covers parks, public gardens and woodland.
Officials are also in talks with operators of children’s recreation sites that still use open fires, seeking cleaner substitutes. The framework names nature playgrounds among the sites concerned and sets 2026 as the start date for those discussions.
According to the municipality, smoke from charcoal and fire pits causes health problems and a nuisance. Some 42 per cent of Amsterdam residents report being bothered by wood smoke, according to figures in the framework.
The city sent out a leaflet filled with guidance on barbecuing.
It warned that particulate matter from barbecue and wood smoke can penetrate deep into the lungs and may even end up in food.
The city identifies charcoal barbecues and open outdoor fires as among the most polluting forms of wood burning, citing fine particulate emissions.
The framework cites the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), which has described tackling domestic wood burning as the most cost-effective way to improve air quality. After industry, it is the largest single contributor to fine particulate concentrations in the Dutch capital.
A municipal website claims that an evening of burning wood in a stove emits as much fine particulate matter as a car journey of 1,000 to 3,000 kilometres.
In still or foggy conditions, residents are asked not to light fires at all. The city directs them to the Stookwijzer, a national online tool that issues colour codes and advises against burning at code orange or red.
The council also urges residents to check with their neighbours beforehand to see if they expect to be bothered by the smoke.
The leaflet even refers to a website offering tips on how to have such conversations.
Under current municipal rules, charcoal barbecues are already banned or heavily restricted across large parts of the city.
An official interactive map divides parks into free zones, designated barbecue spots and no-go areas.
Disposable barbecues are prohibited. Reusable grills must stand at least 10cm above the grass and at least two metres from trees or bushes, and users are required to keep a means of extinguishing fire within reach.
Fines for breaches stand at €95. In Amsterdam-Zuid, the southern borough that includes the Vondelpark, barbecuing is already forbidden in every park, a restriction first imposed in 2011.
The framework did not pass unopposed. The VVD and JA21 argued it went too far, with VVD councillor Laurent Staartjes warning it could prove a first step towards a total ban that would eventually reach private gardens.
Amsterdam has become the world’s first capital city to prohibit public advertisements for meat products, alongside fossil fuels,. https://t.co/sylWV79SpF
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