Summer is the best time to get wood for winter, and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council is encouraging people to get in now.

Procurement Lead Mark Heaney says the Regional Council is teaming up with some of its Good Wood suppliers to offer six refunds of the cost of a cord of wood.

“Summer is the best time to get Good Wood for next winter. Buying wood and storing it properly ahead of winter means it will burn hotter and produce less smoke, heating your home better and keeping our air clean,” says Mr Heaney.

“We’ve teamed up with some of our Good Wood suppliers and are offering people who buy wood from a Good Wood supplier to go in the draw to win one of six refunds on a cord of wood.”

“The supply of dry wood is always limited, and as we get into winter there is less available and the price starts to rise, frequently leaving only wet wood for sale by the end of winter. Professional wood merchants measure moisture content and advise if the wood is not ready to burn yet and the best thing people can do is plan and ‘buy to burn next year’.“

The Regional Council’s Good Wood scheme is there to help buyers know they are getting wood that will burn dry and hot, ideally at less than 25% moisture.

“Our approved Good Wood merchants will replace or refund if Regional Council testing finds the moisture content is over 25% if the wood has been sold as dry.”

“We run this programme because Hawke’s Bay’s air quality isn’t as good as it needs to be during the winter months when people are forced to buy and burn wet wood. This scheme recognises and promotes merchants who care about air quality, and care about their customers getting value for money,” adds Mr Heaney.

© Scoop Media