“Negative” Measures On Sawmill Wastes

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32232, 26 February 1970, Page 22

“Negative” Measures On Sawmill Wastes

(New Zealand Pi

rest Association)

ROTORUA, February 25. Measures taken to date by the Government and the community in respect of sawmill waste and smoke abatement appeared to be both negative and restrictive, Mr D. L. Evans, consulting engineer to the Sawmillers’ Federation, said today.

The measures were not capible of implementation by the ndustry if it were to retain ts present form, he said. Mr Evans was addressing he conference in Rotorua of he New Zealand branch of he Royal .Society for the Promotion of Health. He criticised the imposition >y the Government of smoke control measures without any llustration of how they could >e met. or without the incenive of financial aid to meet hem. Because of the variability n the quantity and quality >f wood waste, the costly efforts at smokeless inciner-

ation had so far failed, and as far as he could see were doomed to future failure. “1 know of at least two modest-sized mills in this region which have each invested up to $lO,OOO in bprners that were claimed to comply with the smoke regulations, but which do not comply. “One mill is now tipping its waste and the other is waiting for a knock on the door.” Mr Evans said that if the industry and the community accepted that one man’s waste could be another’s raw material. the smoke-waste problem could bp approached in a far more constructive way than it had been.