A new bylaw that sets out rules for how Aucklanders can use their indoor domestic fires will come into effect on June 1.
Under the new bylaw, Aucklanders can still use their open indoor fires and their current wood burners. However, from June 1 any new wood burner installed in an Auckland home must meet the regional standards in the new bylaw, in addition to the criteria for new wood burners specified in the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality.
Also, to minimise smoke and contaminants being released into the air, Aucklanders must not burn any of the following materials in their indoor fires – wet wood, wood and wood products that are painted, wood that is tanalised or treated, fuel with a high sulphur content such as high-sulphur coal, household rubbish or green waste.
Social Policy and Bylaws manager Mike Sinclair says the most environmentally friendly types of indoor fires are gas fireplaces, enclosed wood burners that meet the national wood burner standards, or other types of solid-fuel indoor fireplaces that meet the emission standards in the draft bylaw, such as pellet burners.
Council undertook public consultation on the Draft Air Quality Bylaw for Indoor Domestic Fires earlier this year. To read the bylaw, visit aucklandcouncil.govt.nz from June 1 and search ‘Air Quality Bylaw for Indoor Domestic Fires’.
