Don't Choke on the Smoke

In Blenheim, urban air quality is below the desirable standard on some days during winter months. The worst air pollution is on those calm, cold, winter days when contaminants are trapped in the air around us by a warmer inversion layer of air above.

Poor air quality can seriously affect our health, particularly affecting people with heart disease, respiratory disease, asthma and bronchitis.

National regulations mean that, by the end of next year, it will no longer be possible to install open wood or coal fires in new homes built in Marlborough. Wood burners and multi-fuel burners will still be permitted but it’s important to use them in an efficient way to minimise air pollution:

• Make sure the woodburner and flue is cleaned and serviced regularly
• Give the fire enough air to burn brightly, rather than smoulder
• Use biofuels or clean fuels, like wood pellets, which produce a ‘cleaner’ burn
• Don’t burn green or treated timber
• Allow rain-wet wood to dry out properly before burning
• Use kindling to get a hot fire going quickly and put large pieces on only when the fire is burning brightly
• Don’t let the fire smoulder overnight.
• Remember it takes 8-12 months in a dry, well-aired spot to dry out freshly cut wood.

Your can ask your wood merchant to check the moisture content of wood; no more than 20% moisture makes for optimum burning.

Backyard rubbish fires also contribute to air pollution in town. At times, they’re a neighbourhood nuisance; a significant percentage of the complaints received by Council are about backyard fires.

There are alternatives to burning rubbish outdoors, including taking suitable waste to the composting facility on Wither Road or disposing of it at the landfill.