Issues
Issues
Timber Treatment
Continued use of methyl bromide
The continued use of methyl bromide is being challenged by health and green-related organisations. Without the use of methyl bromide, exports of logs and wood-based products will be stopped as methyl bromide is the only approved fumigant allowed by many of New Zealand's overseas customers to kill insect pests. WPA assisted Genera in successfully defending an environment court hearing in Nelson and is working closely with a group of industry representatives and researchers to look for ways to continue methyl bromide use, as well as potential alternatives to its use in future.
The use of alternatives to methyl bromide requires agreement from government organisations equivalent to Biosecurity New Zealand in the countries into which New Zealand product is exported, and they require stringent guarantees that any alternative product to methyl bromide is as effective as methyl bromide. This is not easy to achieve in the short-term. It is therefore likely that an attempt will be made to develop a capture technique to ensure that methyl bromide can still be used but the release of gas into the atmosphere is minimised. See the work of the STIMBR group below for more detail.
STIMBR
WPA is an active member of the Stakeholders in Methyl Bromide Reduction group (STIMBR). This is an industry group looking at ways to find alternatives to methyl bromide and, where appropriate and necessary, to maintain the use of methyl bromide until an alternative can be found. Currently, there is no alternative to the use of methyl bromide, particularly for the export of logs and bulk break timber products. An investigation into adapting a secure pathway technology to have containerised timber certified as pest-free at the place of processing is being undertaken. To ensure that the New Zealand product is able to be certified from a biosecurity perspective and therefore able to be exported, the use of methyl bromide remains essential. Click here to visit the STIMBR website.
