Introduction
New Zealand has clean air most of the time in most places. However, there are some problems in some areas at some times of the year. Tokoroa can have problems in winter.
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...
Tokoroa Warm Homes Clean Air 2006/07 project
The Tokoroa Warm Homes Clean Air 2006/07 project is a partnership between the South Waikato District Council (SWDC) Environment Waikato (EW), Waikato District Health Board (WDHB), Ministry for the Environment (MfE), Raukawa Trust Board and the Pacific Island community, with funding from the Sustainable Management Fund (SMF).
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?
In the short term, 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, WDHB and MfE, 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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