Retail giants join forces to clean up domestic fuels

ASDA, B&Q and Wickes have unveiled a range of drier, cleaner and more efficient fuel products to help cut the 38% of particulate matter emissions that come from burning wood and coal in UK homes.

More than 50 companies have signed up to the Defra-supported ‘Ready to Burn’ scheme, with this logo now displayed on firewood and briquette products in stores across the country.

The retailers are also encouraging customers to buy ‘smokeless’ fuels in the build up to the colder winter months, and to adopt efficient appliances that produce less smoke and soot.

Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said: “Burning dirty fuels to heat a home is a huge contributor to air pollution, and I warmly welcome this commitment from retailers to help move consumers to burning cleaner fuels this winter.

“I encourage all stores to follow their lead, and for users to stop using wet wood and smoky coal to reduce the amount of harmful pollution to which they unwittingly expose themselves, families and the environment.”

The latest commitments are just the latest in a long list of measures taken by UK retailers to help consumers switch to cleaner fuels.

Supermarket chain Lidl has committed to only sell wood that adheres to specific standards, such as having the right moisture content, and being sourced from sustainably managed woodland.

B&Q has trained store colleagues on the benefits of cleaner fuels and more efficient stoves and heaters to help educate their customers, while Asda has removed non-kiln dried wood logs and house coal from all of its London stores.

This comes after the government announced earlier this year in its Clean Air Strategy that only the cleanest stoves would be available for sale in the UK after 2022.

Whitstable Stove Shop director, Mark Smith, said: “If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a stove retailer, it’s that the quality of the wood burnt in a log burner is all important and it’s a false economy to do otherwise.

“The consistency of Ready to Burn approved logs has ensured our customers have been happy with the performance of their stoves.”