BBC report on ban by DEFRA ban on some wood and solid fuels

“Wood burners: Most polluting fuels to be banned in the home” 21 February 2020

Under a ban to be carried out next year, owners of wood burners, stoves and open fires will no longer be able to buy household coal or wet wood.

In order to help cut air pollution, sales of the two most polluting fuels will be phased out in England, the government says.

Wet wood - a type of wood that creates more emissions and smoke - is often present in bags of logs sold in DIY shops, garden centers and gas stations.

The public, the government says, should switch to “cleaner alternatives”

Plans for the ban were first revealed 18 months ago, but it has now been confirmed by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to move ahead.

The government said the largest source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), small particles of air pollution which find their way into the lungs and blood of the body, is wood burning stoves and coal fires.

One of the contaminants that are caused by agricultural, domestic and traffic sources is particulate matter.

What does air pollution do to our bodies?

“Cosy open fires and wood-burning stoves are at the heart of many homes up and down the country,” said Environment Secretary George Eustice.

“But the use of certain fuels means that they are also the biggest source of the most harmful pollutant that is affecting people in the UK.”

The changes would mean:

By February 2021, sales of traditional bagged house coal will be phased out, and the selling of loose house coal directly to consumers will end by 2023.

Sales of small units of wet wood (less than 2 m cubic) will be phased out from February 2021. Wet wood would also have to be sold with recommendations on how to dry it before burning in volumes greater than 2 m cube.

Solid fuel producers would also need to prove that they have a very low content of sulphur and only emit a small amount of smoke.

Wood or coal burning stoves are not prohibited.

In Wales and Scotland, similar plans to limit the burning of wood and coal are being discussed.

In a kiln or in the open, wood can be dried and then processed,

West Midlands’ Gillian Lloyd told BBC News she welcomed the meqasures, as her asthma is often caused by smoke and woodburniner is featured in many homes in her area.

She raised doubts, however, about the effects of the reforms, suggesting that individuals could continue to burn wet wood.

“A lot of people collect cut trees or fallen branches for their burners,” she said.

Read the full article on the BBC webiste.