The government is phasing out the sale of wet wood sold in small volumes (under 2m3). This initially applies in England from 1 May 2021. Scotland is expected to introduce similar rules soon. This ‘Ready to Burn’ scheme is part of the UK commitment in the Clean Air Strategy to reduce emissions of damaging air pollutants by 2020 and 2030.
Minimising the environmental effect of wood-burning is very important. That’s why the scheme aims to help consumers easily identify good quality, dry fuels.
Products marked with the RTB logo have been independently tested and have passed strict quality control parameters. This means that they’re safe to burn straight away – no need to season them.
What does wet wood do?
Even the best stoves will pollute if you burn wet wood on them. At Wood Fuel Coop, we’ve always insisted that our logs and briquettes are dry and high quality. We’ve seen the damage burning wet wood can do to flues and chimneys. Wet fuel also causes a build up of tar and increases the chances of a chimney fire.
Wet wood, which means a moisture content of over about 20%, releases high levels of particulates and smoke. This harms the environment but it also harms your stove and flue/chimney. So it’s important to make sure you’re burning dry wood. RTB makes this easy.
The added benefit of dry fuel is that it produces a lot more heat than wet wood. It’s a win-win!
If traditional logs are your preferred fuel, it’s worth investing in a moisture meter. This tells you if your logs are dry enough to burn well. All of our traditional logs are Kiln-Dried and Ready to Burn Certified.
For more information, visit Readytoburn.org.
