Why does everyone install wood burners knowing how terrible they are for the environment?

[Don'tcallthepolice]

Just this

Ecological detergents will have very little effect on microplastic release. Microplastic release from clothing is mostly from abrasion during the washing process.

Electric hook ups for canal boats are not available on the towpath. They are only available on leisure, long term and residential moorings- which are privately owned. These are to be found as marinas, off side moorings or end of garden moorings and occasionally linear moorings owned by third parties or a quango company of canal and river trust. Not for cruising canal boats to use as and when they randomly stop somewhere.
Bollard electrics also require you to be a signed up residential customer for metermacs which also require you to be a residential moorer with canal and river trust, or a long term moorer with another company in order to either have a credit account, access to a prepayment card or be able to sign up for a debit or credit card payment account. Not one system is compatible with another, and some also require credit checks to be completed first, before you can create an electricity account.
So not quite as simple as you seem to think it is.

I meant more the harmful chemicals that are entering the water system. But also things like fabric conditioner and dryer sheets can have microplastics in them.

They are separate issues. I personally don’t think anyone is selfish for using them as I’m not a hypocrite- I fly, drive, could do better with recycling.

They are not great for the environment but the main thing that puts me off is the research in to the health issues. That probably makes me selfish. But that’s my main concern.

Yes I agree that is awful that these chemicals are released in to the water system.
and if there was a way to avoid consuming them I would.

There is a way I can avoid the potential health damage from a log burner though. By not having one.

I’m quite agog at this thread, people arguing they aren’t going to get one and why. No one asked them to get one. No one Really gives a shiny shit if they have one or not, I have absolutely no idea why some folks are posting like they are expected to get one. They aren’t, they can calm down.

someone even wrote you have to own up to being selfish if you have one. Who the fuck are folks owning up to? The log burner police? The local vicar? Is there some powerful entity folks are supposed to go to and declare themselves selfish too ? As in hello. My name is brian I’d like to own up to being selfish, I have sinned and got me self a log burner. 😂

Crikey @ReedRite , you really are on a mission aren’t you 😳🙄
Yes I have a wood burner, No I don’t fly and I only drive locally.
I don’t have mains gas, I cannot afford to use electricity anymore than absolutely necessary.
I live very rurally and burn well-seasoned wood as frugally as I can.
I do not need someone pontificating at me when you have absolutely no idea about my circumstances.
Bog off.

If you read more carefully, you will discover that nowhere do I say that no person ever should have a wood burner. I do understand that in some circumstances it is difficult not to use them - eg if you live very rurally, not on gas, very limited funds, etc.

I’m more concerned about people buying them because they want the cosiness, like the visual, interior decor aspects etc, when they have other perfectly good sources of heating. And many people - as you’ll see from this thread - just don’t know about the health risks. And lots of us feel it’s good to be aware of risks, so you have a choice about whether to run them, rather than be in ignorance and regret choices later.

It seems from your ‘bog off’ response and other irate posts from other posters, that you feel judged and are angry accordingly and that’s not what I’m doing at all. I don’t judge you. I wouldn’t personally wish to breathe in the emissions from them on a daily basis if I had a choice not to and I’m keen to raise awareness. That’s all.

I had my back door open to let my dog go in and out it was the beginning of September so not even cold!

I have to admit we’ve also got a fire pit in the garden 😂

It’s one of those Solo stoves though so it’s pretty much smokeless.

I know I’m going to be jumped on for this, but I’ll just leave this here (source is cited below the image

Home and Garden Fires in the United Kingdom: A Report from the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), UK.
The level of particle matter in the air in the UK is at a record low.
The most recent data may be found at the National Statistics: Emissions Of Air Pollutants In The UK – Particulate Matter (PM10 And PM2.5) (GOV.uk)

Does "domestic combustion outdoor sources" at the bottom include bbqs? I hope everyone who hates woodburners. never lights a bbq in their garden.

@howaboutchocolate , can’t remember off hand, but pretty sure it does

@Alphabet1spaghetti2 no, they are available for 1 week moorings. I walk past them every day…

time will come when urban houses can’t be sold w woodburners (ie they have to be removed before sale). Watch this space!

and for those who say ‘well I’d rather die warm at 75 than chilly at 90’ - are you really so keen for a neighbouring mum to die of a pollution induced asthma attack at 45? Or a child? This isn’t about you and the consequences of your choices on YOU, it’s about the consequences of your choices on others…

A big part of the health issues with wood burners is that they massively increase indoor air pollution, where we’re breathing them in within a confined space.

Well exactly - you are in an enclosed room versus outdoors with a BBQ..

@moonbows no they aren’t available for electric if they are one week moorings unless they are privately owned such as visitor moorings within the curtailage of a marina They are classed as temporary moorings if it’s a one week stay on the towpath for which no electric will be available unless they come under metermacs (which need a credit check plus a residential mooring to be held before an account will be issued - these are found only within canal and river trust residential mooring sites and be used at the discretion of a regional moorings officer only with prior permission) The only exception to this are the visitor temporary moorings at Llangollen basin, which for a very high fee (approx£20 per night). A marina visitor mooring will be around the same price plus electric on top.
please do not go around assuming things you clearly know nothing about.

But there are a lot of people saying it's selfish to have a woodburner as it inflicts pollution on your neighbours. So do BBQs and fire pits.

We don't have gas in our village. We have an oil heating system which is horribly ineffective in this weather. We have trees we cut down and season. We would be absolutely freezing without our woodburner.as it is our only heat source.

Stand down though, don’t under estimate folks and their intelligence, people don’t need your input. They read the experts with given creditials and make a decision. If anything, an unqualified person posting anonymously like you is judged. And not in a good way., it’s never good when you come across hysterical, uneducated and envious,.,

I use them precisely because they are good for the environment.

I burn wood that I collect from the local forest. The carbon cycle is closed, which is much more eco-friendly than the alternative sources of fuel, which burn carbon which has been deposited a long time ago and which has to be extracted, transported, converted into electricity and then delivered to my house, with losses every step of the way.

I cannot imagine how anyone can argue that is better for the environment.

The consequences of our choices to continue to extract carbon deposits from the ground will kill more people than the pollution from wood smoke from clean burning stoves, by a very long way.

it’s never good when you come across hysterical, uneducated and envious

This is you projecting. I’m not envious at all of wood burning, why would I be? I could have one if I wanted but I really don’t want to be breathing in the particulates from them, thanks all the same! That’s really not any kind of draw to me. Pigeon-holing me as envious and asserting that as a fact, is a really strange thing to do when you know nothing of me or my lifestyle or resources.

I’m not uneducated. And none of my posts have been ‘hysterical’. I’ve noticed that yours have been rather aggressive, though. Which begs the question that if you’re so happy with your decision to burn wood and breathe all the particulates, why are you falling over yourself to make so many posts with personal attacks against those who think differently to you?

Enjoy your burning. Carry on breathing it all in, if you think it’s so great. It’s your choice.

I'm afraid my neighbour's asthma won't realistically be affected one iota if every woodburner were to be torn out tonight. She'd still be living with pollution levels which, in our area, are currently over 5 times the WHO annual air quality guidance value, primarily from motor and air traffic.

I think in talking about health people are ignoring the mental health aspect. They dismiss people saying they find having a woodburning stove comforting and cosy, but that's actually immensely important for people who live a stressful life and/or suffer from anxiety, depression and the like. And that's before you factor in the effect of, for example, not having to worry that you'll be left freezing to death if you can't afford to pay for oil or there's a power cut.