Introduction
New Zealand has clean air most of the time in most places. However, there are problems in the South Waikato at different times of the year, especially in Tokoroa.
Home heating contributes to 90% of the problem in Tokoroa. Wood burners create smoke which contains tiny particles that we breathe in. This can add to health problems.
Tokoroa families can help clear the air in Tokoroa by:
- insulating their homes,
- using cleaner heating systems or
- using their wood burners better.
What we burn affects the air... the air we breathe affects our health...
South Waikato Warm Homes Clean Air project
The Warm Homes Clean Air project is a partnership between the South Waikato District Council (SWDC), Environment Waikato (EW), Ministry of Health (MoH), Raukawa Trust Board and the SWPI Health Committee, with funding from EECA.
The project team wants to make sure that everyone knows what they CAN do to help make a difference!
 What are the goals of the project?
We want to:
- make everyone aware of the issue.
- encourage everyone to make a change for the better… even a little change!
- ensure everyone knows what changes need to be made.
Achieving these goals is just the beginning. In the long term, central and local government agencies like EW, SWDC, MoH and EECA working with communities, have much more work to do.
The problem in a nutshell
During winter a large number of Tokoroa people use wood burners to heat their homes. Wood burners create smoke. What we burn and how we use our wood burners has an impact on the amount and type of smoke created. Smoke carries small particles that are harmful to our health. These particles are small enough to be breathed in. If we use our wood burners better, we reduce the amount of smoke and these small air-borne particles… and we improve the impacts on our health.
Where do these particles come from?
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