Complaints about wood fires quadrupled last year
More and more Netherlands residents are experiencing nuisance from neighbors burning wood in their fireplaces. Last year, the Stookwijzer received 43,000 complaints, nearly four times as many as the 11,000 received the year before, the Reformatorisch Dagblad reported.
The Stookwijzer is an RIVM site that provides advice on a postcode level about whether it is a good idea to light a wood fire, based on the air quality and the local weather conditions. For example, on a smoggy day with little wind, the Stookwijzer shows code red - don’t do it.
The most complaints came from Nijmegen (1,063), followed by Amersfoort (918), Apeldoorn (817), Amsterdam (713), and Ede.
Sander Teeuwisse, responsible for the Stookwijzer at the RIVM, is not surprised that these municipalities had so many complaints. “In many of these cities, the debate about wood burning is already in full swing.” Amersfoort, for example, bans wood fires when the Stookwijzer is on red. And residents of Nijmegen and Ede can apply for a subsidy to have their woodstove removed.
Increased awareness of the nuisance and health risks caused by wood fires, as well as increased popularity of the Stookwijzer app, is probably also behind the massive increase in reports, Teeuwisse told the newspaper. “The topic of wood burning has received much more attention in the media in recent years. The Stookwijzer benefits from this.”
About 25 percent of all particulate matter emissions in the Netherlands are caused by wood burning. “That has all kinds of harmful effects,” Teeuwisse said. “Particulate matter contains carcinogenic substances. It can also cause cardiovascular diseases. So the less wood burning, the better. At least if you think from a health perspective.”
Teeuwisse added that the massive increase doesn’t necessarily mean more problems caused by wood fires. Stookwijzer doesn’t register who is making a complaint. “So it is unclear to us whether more citizens report nuisance or whether a small group of people report more often. In theory, it is possible to report your neighbor who is burning wood six times an hour.”
