Government Announces Ban on the Sale of Wood and Solid Fuels from 2021
Posted on in Business News , Political News
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has responded to their consultation on cleaner domestic burning of solid fuels and wood in England, announcing plans to introduce restrictions on the sale of wood and a ban on coal from next year.
The government had previously consulted on measures in 2018 as a way to tackle air pollution due to domestic burning.
The government has confirmed in an announcement today that from February 2021, they will introduce the following:
- Wood sold in volumes under 2m3 must have a moisture content of 20% or less. This means from February 2021, all sales of wet wood in volumes under 2m3 will be banned.
- Suppliers of wood will need to apply for mandatory certification to demonstrate that their wood has less than 20% moisture. Retailers will be required to check that their supplier has received certification. This information will be made available online.
- Retailers will be required to store seasoned wood in such a way as to keep it dry. The government has confirmed that they will produce guidance on how retailers can comply with this requirement.
- A ban on the sale of all pre-packaged traditional bituminous house coal.
There is no sell through period which means that retailers will need to have sold through all their wet and seasoned wood stock (as it has not been certified to have less than 20% moisture) as well as pre-packaged traditional house coal by February 2021. Suppliers will still be able to sell these products to retailers up until February 2021.