The Sustainable Firewood Guide

A handy consumer guide for firewood and firewood alternatives widely and readily available in Victoria

DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR FIREWOOD COMES FROM? IMAGE ©iStockphoto.com/sandramo IMAGE

• What’s the most sustainable wood to burn?

• Where do I find it?

• How do I tell ‘good’ firewood from bad? A burning issue: what’s the best firewood to burn?

onservative estimates put the amount of firewood consumed Firewood myths busted by Victorians at more than half a Weight for weight, all eucalypt Cmillion tonnes a year. That’s more wood species have approximately the same than we export as woodchips! calorific (heat) value. Such enormous use is environmentally Density is the factor that tends to unsustainable from current firewood determine preference for different sources. The same forests that supply species. Roughly half as much wood much of our firewood are also some of with a high density such as Grey Box the most important forests in Victoria. (1121kg/m3) is required to produce the same heat as a lower density They harbour threatened plant and species like Alpine Ash (600kg/m3). animal species which need these forests to survive. Wood that forms glowing coals radiates more heat than wood that The bulk of firewood burnt by burns quickly. Quick-burning wood Victorian homes comes from native gives off heat in the form of hot forests both here and in NSW. Victorian gases that often pass up the chimney forests, such as red gum forests at and are wasted. Modern wood Gunbower, and the Wombat, Wellsford heaters are becoming better at utilising this heat. and Mount Cole forests in central and western Victoria, are exploited for firewood. of fossil fuel energy, but to minimise can be classified as a renewable energy There is no genuine environmental pollution your firewood must be dry resource, but only when accompanied accreditation for firewood sourced from – less than 20% moisture content is by a tree replacement program. VNPA these forests, so the wood you burn may recommended. supports the use of wood grown in be contributing to the loss of habitat for woodlots and through private farm our threatened wildlife. • Firewood burners must be correctly flued, ventilated and operated. forestry in existing agricultural areas. But there are sustainable alternatives. Farm-grown firewood, particularly • Burning firewood in small, hot fires in largely cleared landscapes such as produces less air pollution than large, How does your wood Victoria’s Goldfields and the Riverina, has smouldering fires containing large stack up? a range of benefits for both the natural firewood logs. To help Victorians choose environment and the health of farming • Wood with high moisture content, burnt environmentally sustainable firewood, communities. in a poorly ventilated heater, can cause the Victorian National Parks Association high levels of particulate matter to be It creates much-needed habitat, can has picked six of the most easily emitted. provide shelter for sheep and cattle, and obtainable firewood and firewood helps keep salinity in check. alternatives on the Victorian market today and tested how they compare in Farm-based woodlots purposely grown THE carbon impacts for firewood are also likely to reduce their environmental impacts. demand for firewood sourced from our OF FIREWOOD The products we have chosen come precious native forests, leaving these Most fuels used to produce energy (gas, from a range of sources: areas more intact as healthy habitat for oil, coal and wood) release CO2 emissions • Traditional firewood from native forests. threatened species. into the atmosphere that are helping to drive dangerous climate change. • Farm-grown firewood from sustainably managed plantations. Air quality But unlike the other three energy When burnt properly, using firewood sources, burning firewood from • Compressed native forest waste products. from sustainable sources to warm your renewable plantations is greenhouse home can be less polluting and more neutral. The carbon released from • Compressed forest waste product environmentally sustainable than other burning the wood is taken back in derivatives imported into Australia. methods. (sequestered) by the plantation trees as We have used a range of factors they regrow. • An efficient firewood burner produces to determine the environmental less carbon dioxide than other forms In terms of CO2 emissions, wood sustainability of these six firewood

The Sustainable Firewood Guide How does your wood stack up?

PRODUCT SOURCE MADE FROM BUY FROM RATING Enviro Firewood 100% plantation grown Blue Gum from western Australian hardwood. BP service stations and Excellent (grown in Victoria) Victoria. some garden suppliers. Eco Logs (Victoria Native Victorian forest kiln dried mill waste, predom- Compressed sawdust. Selected hardware Poor based) inantly from central highlands and red gum forests. stores, service stations. Red gum, Ironbark Entirely from native forests in Victoria and NSW. Australian hardwood. Widely available. Bad & other native forest timbers IMAGE: ©iStockphoto.com/colematt IMAGE: Ekoflame Firelog Saw dust and waste oil (Canola/soy/animal fat Sawdust from Asia Bunnings. Poor (WA based) blend). combined with other Wood waste sourced from kiln and naturally dried products. mill operations, largely from native forests in Malaysia. Eko log (WA based) Wood waste sourced from kiln and naturally Compressed sawdust Bunnings. Poor dried mill operations, largely from native forests from Asia. in Malaysia. Hotrox woodlogs Timber-mill sawdust and waste woodchips from Waste wood and Bunnings. Poor furniture factories. sawdust. EcoBriquettes Made from 100% recycled timber, salvaged from 100% recycled timber. Some BP service Good Australian demolition sites. Each briquette is dry stations, independent shredded timber compressed under 200 tonnes of hardware stores and pressure and contains no additives or accelerants. supermarkets.

HOW WE RATED ENVIRO ECO LOGS RED GUM, IRONBARK & EKOFLAME EKO LOG HOTROX ECOBRIQUETTES EACH PRODUCT FIREWOOD OTHER NATIVE FIRELOG WOODLOGS FOREST TIMBERS Sourced from outside 3 0 0 1 1 1 3 native forests Victorian product 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 sustainably produced Tree replanting program 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Plantation based or 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 woodlots on private land RATING 11 1 0 1 1 1 5

Rating system: Excellent 10-12. Good 5-9. Poor 1-4. Bad-0. Note: This analysis is based on available product information in stores and on company websites. The analysis is not scientifically based, but is the most comprehensive on these products to date.

products, each factor being rated on a an unsustainable plans and regional forestry agreements scale of 1 to 3. The higher the score, the native forest are outdated, or subject to changes by better the product is for the environment. the Victorian Government, which has firewood industry weakened environmental safeguards While not exhaustive, the assessment protecting forests and threatened species. is the most comprehensive to date of the Significant quantities of wood are impacts individual firewood products suspected of being harvested illegally The removal of a permit system for have on the health of our forests. from roadsides and public native forests. firewood collection in Victoria’s state forests – previously in place since 1958 – Choose wisely when buying your These forests provide wood for domestic has also increased pressure on traditional firewood. Ask your supplier, service use and commercial firewood sellers. firewood sources. station or hardware store for the most Sadly, most of this firewood is logged sustainably produced firewood. Our unsustainably from poorly managed Unregulated firewood collectors analysis clearly identifies Enviro Firewood have moved in, stripping forests of forests, despite claims from the logging as the best available firewood choice fallen timber, and leaving some rural industry and government. in terms of environmental impact in communities that rely on firewood as Victoria. Many current forest management their only source of heating short of fuel.

Published by the Victorian National Parks Association Don’t send their homes up in smoke!

ollecting firewood from the forest is a great Aussie tradition, Firewood from our forests but what we see as ‘dead wood’ • If left on the ground in a forest, fallen Cand fuel, birds, mammals and insects branches form valuable shelter for use as shelter and food sources. native species. Removing them for firewood results in habitat loss. Across Australia 21 species of native birds are considered threatened by • Taking firewood from native forests firewood collection – 19 of them are particularly threatens reptiles, birds and mammals. It can impact upon found in Victoria. threatened species such as the Squirrel Victoria’s hollow-nesting Brown Glider, Carpet Python and Brush-tailed Treecreeper, for example, forages mostly Phascogale (Tuan). among standing dead trees and logs, • Firewood harvesting from native forests searching out insects that hide in fissures can destroy native understorey plants and hollows. and introduce weeds. In River Red Gum forests, densities of • The use of firewood from native the Brown Treecreeper have been found forests threatens the viability of other sustainable firewood producers such as to be substantially higher in areas where farm-based woodlots. fallen timber on the ground exceeded 40 tonnes per hectare. • Firewood sourced from native forests is largely unregulated and poorly In our Box-Ironbark forests, bird SQUIRREL GLIDER monitored. numbers have been found to be nine times greater, and the number of bird species present three times higher, in The removal of wood from the forest native plants. Nine Victorian plant areas containing piles of fallen timber. floor exposes soil to wind and water, communities likely to be affected by potentially leading to an increase in soil firewood harvesting are listed under the Mammals also need ‘dead wood’ in erosion and sedimentation. state’s Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act the form of hollow-bearing trees, both (FFG), which lists our most vulnerable dead and alive, for shelter and nesting. It also has negative impacts on our species. At a federal level, three ecological communities likely to be affected by firewood harvesting are listed under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC). And about 60 plant species that occur in forests or woodlands of concern are listed under the EPBC, FFG or both. Source: Ecological Impacts of Firewood Collection – Department of Sustainability and Environment, May 2010

Want to learn more? Phone: 03 9347 5188 Email: [email protected] Website: vnpa.org.au Facebook: facebook.vnpa.org.au IMAGE: ©iStockphoto.com/colematt IMAGE:

The Sustainable Firewood Guide is published by the Victorian National Parks Association, a not-for-profit community conservation organisation and Victoria’s leading voice on protection of the natural environment.