HETAS, the non-profit industry organisation supporting cleaner and safer choices for the use of biomass and other solid fuels, appliances and associated technologies, is running the Ready to Burn certification scheme for Manufactured Solid Fuels (MSF) as appointed by DEFRA to meet regulations that come into force in England from 1 May 2021.

The Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020 aim to restrict the supply and sale of bituminous house coal and provide minimum standards for fuels described as manufactured solid fuels (MSF). The legislation defines MSF as a fuel manufactured from coal, wood, plant-derived materials, waxes or petroleum products with other ingredients. All fuels that fall under the description of MSF must comply with the standards set by the regulations and so must be verified as emitting less than 5 g/h of smoke emission as tested against BS 3841-1, and be proven to have a sulphur content of no more than 2 per cent (dry ash free basis).

Only those MSFs with verified emissions and sulphur content are legal for sale in England from 1 May 2021. Authorised fuels will be certified by HETAS to carry the Ready to Burn certification mark and be included on the list of authorised fuels for England by the Secretary of State (smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk).

READ MORE: HS2: Legal action taken against Natural England

Bruce Allen, CEO of HETAS, commented: “The Ready to Burn mark helps consumers to easily identify solid fuels that are legal to burn at home in compliance with the new Air Quality Regulations. Applying the Ready to Burn mark to solid fuels is a big step forward in helping people to make safer and cleaner choices when it comes to domestic burning.

“We believe that the additional backing and enforcement of the new Air Quality regulations to use cleaner fuel, along with raising awareness of using modern clean low emissions appliances, will make a huge difference to the environmentally responsible use of solid fuels and wood for stoves and boilers. The scheme is critical in making it easy for consumers to purchase fuel that is legal to use and is a significant step to reducing harmful particulate emissions and improving air quality.”

The Ready to Burn mark is also applied to wood fuel certified by Woodsure, a subsidiary of HETAS. The new Air Quality regulations aim to ban the sale of wet wood and house coal and from 1 May 2021 wood sold in volumes of up to 2 m3 will need to be Ready to Burn certified with a proven moisture content of 20 per cent or less. Suppliers selling quantities of wood over 2m3 will need to provide their customers with advice on how to store and season the fuel so that is it dry to burn.

For more information on HETAS certified Manufactured Solid Fuels and how to apply to the scheme, click here.

Forestry Journal remains dedicated to bringing you all the latest news and views from across our industry, plus up-to-date information on the impacts of COVID-19.

Please support us by subscribing to our print edition, delivered direct to your door, from as little at £75 for 1 year – or consider a digital subscription from just £1 for 3 months.

To arrange, follow this link: https://www.forestryjournal.co.uk/subscribe/

Thanks – and stay safe.