Beware of Cheap Firewood!

Beware of neighbours offering you free firewood or traders selling building offcuts on Trade Me.
Building offcuts are always treated timber which is illegal to burn (for good reason).

"A Government-funded study released recently by the Ministry for the Environment confirms that air pollution from home heating, transport and industry causes almost 1,000 premature deaths in New Zealand each year and costs around $1.1 billion a year."
http://www.gw.govt.nz/story23209.cfm

I have mentioned this practice to TM and hopefully this will be brought to a halt.

If you notice anyone burning treated timber, you can report them to your local Regional Council (they will have a Freephone number) . Link to Regional Councils.

Air freshener obsessions

The increasing popularity of air fresheners seems never-ending. People's homes, shops and even cars. Is it safe to leave the sanctity of your own odour-free home? At the weekend, I was in a small local shop when I overheard the owner exclaim to a customer that she had this wonderful smelling air freshener that squirted every 36 minutes but it had broken. She was busy fixing it, when it had caught her unawares and she got chemical nasties squirted her in the face.
That's it , I thought, I have less than 36 minutes to get out and made a hasty retreat!

What ever happened to fresh flowers, pure essential oils and natural lavender spray. Has the world gone mad?

Say No to Plastic Bags

Do you take reusable bags to the supermarket? I'm amazed how few people do - it is quite depressing standing at the checkout feeling like you're the only person who cares :(

With the notable exceptions of:
The Golden Bay region -thanks to the efforts of the Golden Bay Bag ladies and the local council
http://www.plasticshoppingbagfree.org.nz/.

Pak 'n Save supermarkets charge for plastic bags, so the majority of their shoppers use reusable bags or cardboard boxes.

The other supermarkets have made a token effort by sell reusable bags but whilst they continue to offer FREE plastic bags - they're missing the point.

Just imagine if the NZ government adopted the same policy as they do in Ireland - taxing plastic bags! I bet the change to reusable bags would be instant. That's my rant for today.
http://enviro.org.au/enews-description.asp?id=695