KEY POINTS:
Throw another log on the fire. But not just any old bit of wood - environmental bureaucrats in Auckland want clean-burning logs used in fireplaces and wood-burning stoves.
The Auckland Regional Council is warning homeowners about the polluting effects of domestic fires and is launching a campaign to educate householders about responsible fireplace use.
But it admits our attachment to a roaring log fire could make it a hard message to sell.
Next month the ARC will launch the first stage of a campaign to educate people on how domestic fires are contributing to Auckland's growing air-quality problem.
While there is no intention to ban fires in the Auckland region, the council says it wants to encourage better practices - such as the use of dry wood rather than wet or green wood that smokes more when it burns.
In a report, the ARC said fires contributed to brown haze and smog which harmed New Zealand's clean, green image and affected tourism and export earnings.
The four-phase campaign aims to shift public attitudes regarding the use of open fires and wood burners.
The report to the council's environmental management committee said research showed that public awareness and understanding about domestic emissions was low.
It also noted that homeowners had a strong emotional attachment to their fires which called for a "prudent approach" in tackling the problem.
The ARC plans to establish 14 monitoring sites throughout the region and use census modelling to show the location of dwellings with wood fires, and the type.
Les Comer, 61, a major wood supplier in the region, said it was crucial that wood was properly dried so it did not smoke.
His company only sold wood at least two years after the tree was felled. "It's lost all its sap so is smoke-free."
Mr Comer - who sold 12,000 tonnes of firewood last year to 5000 customers - said he wanted to see reputable wood sellers licensed to counter the "fly-by-nighters" who sold green wood at cheaper prices.
