Wood Fuel is Carbon Neutral-ish!

Wood fuel is as carbon neutral a fuel as you can get in the UK as long as you use coppicing or plant new trees to replace any trees harvested. As trees grow they capture CO₂ from the atmosphere, this CO₂ is then locked away within the tree and is only released when that tree dies and rots away or is burnt to provide heat. The CO₂ released is then reabsorbed by a new tree as it grows and the cycle is repeated.

Sourcing Timber

Bertie’s only use timber sourced from local, well-managed sustainable woodlands for firewood production. Timber is typically sourced from within 15 miles of Hadlow and the delivery mileage for our logs averages less than 10 miles, making Bertie’s wood fuel truly local.

Coppicing

This is a traditional method of harvesting trees that dates back to Roman times in Kent and Sussex. Trees, typically ash or sweet chestnut, are cut back to about 30cm from the ground and then allowed to re-grow. This harvest takes place every 12 - 15 years, helping to keep the trees healthy, encouraging bio-diversity and maintaining the classic wooded look of the Kent and Sussex countryside.

Replacing Fossil Fuels

Using local wood fuel instead of imported fossil fuels will greatly reduce your carbon footprint. It also provides employment in rural areas, encourages bio-diversity and the restoration of Kent’s woodlands. To help reduce our consumption of fossil fuels Bertie's delivery fleet runs on bio-diesel produced in Hadlow using waste cooking oil from the kitchens of Hadlow College.

More Informantion on Wood Fuel and the Environment

To find out more about wood fuel and the environment in the UK you might like to visit the followiing websites - The Forestry Commission, The Biomass Energy Centre, The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Forest Research, The Department of Energy and Climate Change and The Carbon Trust.