SUSTAINABLY grown kiln-dried hardwood mill ends that make excellent firewood are again available from four businesses in South Gippsland and Bass Coast Shires.
The timber is grown in Tasmania and milled in East Gippsland for the building trade and is untreated, the easy-to-handle mill ends being clean with no bark.
“When using them for firewood, they are perfect because they are nice even small pieces, so they work perfectly in small fires and for anyone with issues holding larger pieces of wood,” co-owner of Wonthaggi Garden Supplies Melanie Carlisle said.
That is one of the businesses selling the mill ends, the others being Ross Chapman Cartage & Earthmoving Contractors in Kongwak, Inverloch Garden Supplies and Leongatha Garden Supplies.
Being hardwood, the mill ends provide long burn times and reliable heat.
Kongwak’s Nick Chapman said the timber can be combined in the fireplace with red gum or local wood.
The mill ends can be loaded onto trucks or trailers in bulka bags or delivered loose, the participating businesses selling the wood for $225 a cubic metre.
Owner of Leongatha Garden Supplies, Andrew Houston, spoke of the convenience the wood provides, his parents among the enthusiastic buyers.
“They’ve got a little heater in their place and it suits them perfectly,” he said of the size of the mill ends and the lack of mess created.
Melanie also elaborated on the convenience factor.
“We have a lot of retired older customers that were getting double and triple split wood and now they can just get this,” she said.
The four businesses have combined to sell the mill end firewood for the last three-four years, Nick getting the tradition started through a mate in the timber industry and bringing the other businesses on board.
Melanie explained that the combined arrangement boosts the affordability of the firewood.
“We can move it in bulk so it saves in cartage costs and that gets passed on to customers,” she said.
Nick highlighted the sustainability of the timber, noting it comes from a substantial and appropriately managed “renewable plantation”.
With various options for firewood this winter, including local wood and red gum to meet all your fire requirements head to your local supplier.
Stay warm this winter.