Exciting news for the Old Log Co at Urban Forestry (Bury St Edmunds) Ltd – we now have a new wood fired kiln in operation at our depot in Ingham! We decided to take the plunge to build a wood fired kiln at our yard for a number of reasons, but predominantly because we have been struggling to get the moisture content low enough in some of our logs using traditional air-drying methods after several wet autumns and winters.
In tandem with this, new legislation has come into force called the Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020. The aim of these regulations is to prevent harmful pollution from burning of all solid fuels by ensuring wood sold in volumes of under two cubic metres is certified as having a moisture content of 20% or less. Using a wood fired kiln to dry our logs guarantees we can get the moisture content below 20%.
This is much better for the environment but will also mean your logs will burn super efficiently. This helps you gain you as much heat and energy from them as possible. Unfortunately, this does mean the cost of the logs has risen quite markedly compared to air dried wood. But, in comparison to fossil fuels, electricity and gas, it a much cheaper way of heating your home or office.
At least 50% of kiln dried wood sold online comes from Eastern Europe. These logs travel a significant distance across Europe to you, using lots of fossil fuels (mainly diesel and gas oil). We are trying to promote ‘Buy it where you burn it!’ This is about encouraging people to use local sources of firewood and local people rather than transporting firewood great distances across borders and boundaries.
We know invasive pest and diseases can destroy our native trees and woodland, and can hitch hike into the UK on these logs and packaging. Therefore, we’re trying to do our bit for the local environment and the rural economy by limiting our radius of delivery to 20-miles around Bury St Edmunds. By kiln drying our wood at our depot in Ingham, we can now guarantee less than 20% moisture content from logs which are all felled locally, kiln dried locally, and processed by people who all live locally. The fuel the kiln utilises is poor quality waste wood which we cannot normally sell recycled from our tree surgery operations (which we also dry before firing the kiln).
In comparison to companies who import from Eastern Europe our logs have a significantly lower carbon footprint. We are also able to divert some of the heat we generate to help keep our staff and office at work toasty as well as dry our climbing equipment and our guy’s wet weather gear (which we would have normally dried using inefficient electrical heaters and dehumidifiers). We think this is a really positive way to do business and we hope you agree. Please show your support by purchasing some logs from us!
Promo!
As a promotion, we are selling our logs this year at £200.00 per 1.2 cubic metres (including VAT at 5%). All deliveries with the 20-mile radius are FREE!
Discounts may be available on larger orders over 4.8 cubic metres. Please ring the office and speak one of our friendly team members for details on 01284 729091.
