Free Firewood

With the New Zealand winter upon us I have been burning a lot of wood to keep the house warm. I know most people buy firewood and have it delivered before the winter begins, however I have never paid for firewood since living in New Zealand.

For two years I used wood from a felled tree in my back yard. This year I am burning wood from old pallets. My friend dropped off some broken up pallets last summer and I stored them in my garage. I am now cutting the bigger pieces up with an electric saw to make them fireplace size.

Of course I know a lot of people don’t have friends like mine who will drop wood at your doorstep, so I have listed some other ways you can get free firewood.

1) Old Pallets
Many companies have old pallets that they just throw away. You may see some piled up at various sites as you drive around. Approach the company manager and ask what they do with their old pallets. They may be very happy for you to take them away instead of them paying someone else to dispose of them. But beware, not all pallets are rubbish. Some companies pay a deposit for the pallet and get that refunded when it is returned. So don’t just go around taking pallets without asking.

2) Newspaper Ads
Read the ad section of your local newspaper. There may be an advertisement for free pallets or old wood. You just need to go pick it up. Who knows, you may even gain an ongoing source of wood.

3) Offcuts
Many construction sites have offcuts of wood they give away. I get wood offcuts from a local furniture company. They have a bin outside their building in Pukekohe where they throw all the little bits of wood they can’t use. I usually give this to my kids for their woodworking table. However it is really good for kindling as it is kiln-dried and small.

4) Advertise
You may wish to advertise in your local paper, or through flyers, that you want wood. If you are willing to pick it up many people might just take you up on the offer. We have many local newspapers which allow free advertising.

5) Word of Mouth
Let people know you are looking for free firewood. That’s how I got the delivery of pallets from my friend. Most people are quite willing to help others out for free, especially if they can get rid of some old wood they don’t want.

6) Garden Waste
When you or your neighbours trim their trees and bushes don’t throw the wood away. Keep it for firewood and kindling. It may be too “green” to use this year but it will be great for a fire next year. Plus you’ll save the cost of disposing the green waste.

7) Tree Felling
With the horrendous windy weather New Zealand has just had I know there are lots of fallen trees around. If you don’t have any on your property maybe you can help a neighbour clear their trees and score some free wood at the same time. Most people don’t have the room to store all the wood they get when chopping up a full grown tree.

8) Demolition
If you know of a demolition site you may be able to get some free wood there. Most people don’t reuse the wood when they demolish a building so you may be able to take it off their hands for free. Just be careful that you don’t burn treated or painted wood. The fumes from the chemicals can be dangerous.

9) Christmas Trees
Yes I know Christmas was 7 months ago and we still have 5 months until the next one, but this is something to think about. Every year we buy a real Christmas tree and I save it to use for kindling the following winter. By the time the cold weather rolls around the pine branches are nice and dry. It also saves me the expense of throwing it away.

10) Inorganic Collection
Many areas have an inorganic collection day. I’m sure you’ve probably seen the piles of rubbish sitting in front of the houses in these areas. You may find some very good bits of wood from old furniture, broken toys, or scrap wood in these piles. As it is intended for the dump you would be saving the rubbish man some trouble by taking the wood for your fire.

So try these ways to keep yourself warm this winter and let me know if you have any other ideas.

Remember when you clean out your fireplace that the ash is very good for the garden. You can sprinkle it directly on the plants or mix it into the soil. However if you are burning pallets or other wood with nails in it, then you cannot use the ash on the garden unless you sift out all the metal bits.