Using Wooden Pallets as Firewood: A Few Things You Need to Know
Posted on: 6 April 2018
Much of the world perhaps thinks of Australia as a place where it's always warm and sunny. Sure, this could be said for some parts of the country, but those who call Australia home will know that the climate is actually rather diverse, and some places tend to experience a cold winter. If you're lucky enough to have a fireplace, you won't be a stranger to having to buy wood. You might buy actual fireplace logs, or you might like to look for scrap wood that has already been used in some form before going into the fire, so that it wasn't harvested simply to be burned. Wooden pallets might seem like an ideal choice for firewood, but before you go looking for wooden pallets for sale, there are a few things you need to know.
Nails and Screws
If you should be able to purchase wooden pallets suitable for firewood, it can be wise to remove and nails or screws when you break the pallets up. Though a hot piece of metal probably won't damage your fireplace, it's better to be safe than sorry. You also want to avoid having something sharp lurking beneath the ashes when the time comes to clean the interior of your fireplace. So how can you know if pallets are in fact suitable for firewood?
Pesticides
Before using wooden pallets as firewood, you need to know the origin of the items, namely whether or not the pallets were used to import any type of organic materials into Australia. These pallets are generally treated with a pesticide known as bromomethane (also known as methyl bromide). Burning this wood can be hazardous and release bromomethane. Though the smoke will be expelled via your chimney, it's still potentially dangerous.
ISPM Marking
Ideally, the pallet's International Standards For Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15) marking will still be legible. This details the pallet's country of origin, as well as showing which fumigation treatments the pallet has undergone. Methyl bromide is marked with MB, and heat treated pallets (which are safe to burn) are marked with HT. Other types of listed heat treatments are shown as kiln-dried (KD), Portable Chamber Process (PCP - HT), Fast Container Connector (FCC - HT). Some pallets have more than one marking (as in they have been heat treated and fumigated with methyl bromide), so anything marked with MB should not be burned.
So if you should locate a suitable source for wooden pallets, remember that there are a few things that need to be checked before they can go into your fireplace.
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