Cleaner home heating

• Installing or replacing a wood burner on a property less than 2 hectares? It must meet the national environmental standards emission limits and efficiency requirements
• Check the Ministry for the Environment’s authorised wood burners list to see if your new wood burner is allowed. 
• New open fires installs are not permitted in the Masterton urban area because it’s a ‘polluted airshed’ that doesn’t meet the national environmental standard air quality for particle air pollution measured as PM₁₀.

Breathing wood smoke which contains high levels of tiny particles harms health. PM₁₀ and smaller particles such as PM_2.5 can get deep in our lungs and cause health issues, particularly for vulnerable members of society like children, older people and those with respiratory illness.

Burning rubbish, plastic and treated timber in home fires is banned as these materials release toxic pollutants. Burning ground-treated timber, like decking offcuts, releases arsenic into the air.

How to spot treated timber

Follow these better burning tips to get less smoke pollution and more heat from your fire:

• Use dry and un-treated wood
• Give your fire enough air so it doesn’t smoulder and don’t damp down for an overnight burn
• Get your firebox checked and chimney cleaned every year
• Learn how to build a smoke-free fire with fire-master Dave Pullen

Find out more about burning smoke-free

How to keep your wood dry