Chinese lanterns could be banned from council-owned sites after one sparked a huge fire at a Smethwick recycling plant.
The blaze ripped through 100,000 tonnes of plastic at the Jayplas facility last month. Fire investigators have blamed the inferno on a Chinese lantern.
CCTV footage showed a lantern landing on the mound of refuse moments before the fire broke out. The blaze caused £6 million of damage and sent a plume of smoke 6,000ft into the sky on the night of June 30.
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Around 200 firefighters tackled the incident, with several of them injured.
The Government has refused to place a blanket ban on the lanterns, but now Birmingham City Council chiefs are set to lobby ministers for a change in the law.
Jacqui Kennedy, head of regulation and enforcement at the council, said: “We are going to make further representations requesting the Government to reconsider its decision.”
And she said there could be a ban on the use of lanterns – which are often launched at parties and weddings – on council-owned land.
“Currently the council is exploring the possibility of banning the launch of Chinese lanterns from any council land, such as public parks, within the city,” she added.
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Earlier this month shopping giant Poundland withdrew Chinese lanterns from their stores. Now Birmingham Trading Standards are warning the public about the dangers of using them.
A spokesman said: “The lanterns are readily available, especially on the internet, and can be purchased for as little as 20 pence each.
“The recent fire in Smethwick has highlighted the risk posed by these lanterns.
“Currently, consumer protection safety legislation does not ban the supply of the lanterns if they are properly constructed and they bear instructions and suitable warnings.
“Some suppliers have claimed design improvement in recent years have reduced the possibility of lanterns causing fires and that it is the cheaper version, still available, that poses the real risk.
“However, we want to make it clear that we do not endorse the use of any Chinese-style lanterns.”