Case Study: Wood secures future for New Zealand Foam Latex, Christchurch, NZ

Wood secures future for New Zealand Foam Latex - With its future at stake, New Zealand Foam Latex needed an economically viable and environmentally friendly fuel to produce steam needed to manufacture their products - all made from foam. Coal was cheap, from $6.10/GJ. But emissions and the costs of mitigating them ruled it out Diesel and LPG would cost over $30/GJ. Wood was cost-effective and clean-burning. A variety of sources helped assure reliable supply - forestry hoggings, timber yard residues, left-over pallets and demolition, even dunnage reclaimed from shipping. Wood now costs NZFL around $4.44/GJ, six or seven times less than diesel or LPG and over 25% less than coal. Additionally using wood has reduced NZFL's CO2 emissions by 4200 tonnes a year and avoids 1,000 tonnes of wood going to landfill.