ALBANY — The state Department of Environmental Conservation is considering new regulations that would completely ban the use of trash-burning barrels in New York.

The stricter regulations on outdoor burning are in the first stages of consideration by the department, according to spokeswoman Lori O’Connell.

“The proposals have not even been formally announced yet,” she said.

But the idea of tougher bans on burning has been floated to local officials, and an article on what’s under consideration appeared in a New York State Association of Towns newsletter last month.

According to O’Connell, the burning of paper, paper products, cartons, tree trimmings, leaves, and lawn and garden debris in an open fire would be prohibited.

Currently, open burning is prohibited in all incorporated cities and in towns with a population of 20,000 or more.

“All burn barrels would be banned under the proposal no matter what the size of the town,” O’Connell said. “Cooking and campfires under 3 feet wide would be allowed.”

Unless prohibited by local law, property owners in towns with a population of fewer than 20,000 can now burn paper and wood but not household garbage.

Milton Building Inspector Wayne Howe said his department is in charge of enforcing the local law on burning. He said many residents in the rural area of town have burn barrels.

“I used to have a burn barrel myself, but I’ve since started to recycle everything,” he said.

The Milton Town Board passed a local law in 2003 that allowed burning in a container if it had a screen cover to keep hot ashes from escaping.

“There are quite a few of them in the more rural areas of town,” Howe said. “They can be used as long as they don’t have a negative impact on neighbors. If we get a complaint, we will require the fire to be extinguished.”

In Johnstown, Assistant Fire Chief Mike Heberer said his department is reviewing the proposed regulation changes.

“It looks like it could open up the use of chimineas and the like, which are now completely prohibited in the city,” Heberer said, without elaborating.

He said if a Johnstown resident lights an outdoor fire for any use other than cooking, the fire department can be called to demand the flames be put out.

“If a neighbor complains, we can say, ‘You put it out, or we’ll do it for you,’ ” Heberer said.

Over the past decade, many towns with populations under 20,000 have passed restrictions on burning. In 1998, Wilton adopted a law after town officials received numerous phone complaints about the smoke from the outdoor burning of leaves and other debris.

The Wilton law allows people with lots of two acres or more to continue to burn leaves in their yards, but if DEC enacts the new regulations, the town law will be overruled.

O’Connell said that as a regulation, the rule can be enacted and enforced by DEC without legislative approval.

The proposed revision begins with a prohibition on the burning of any material in an open fire and then lists exceptions.

The exceptions are small fires for cooking or campfires, firefighting training, smudge pots to prevent frost damage to crops, on-site agricultural waste burning, and ceremonial bonfires not otherwise prohibited by law.

DEC officials have begun soliciting comments from local government and firefighting officials from around the state. The date commencing an official public comment phase has yet to be determined, O’Connell said.