Changes to the sale of domestic solid fuels come into effect

The changes mean that retail businesses in England, including convenience stores, supermarkets and forecourts, must not sell traditional house coal (bituminous coal).

Permitted manufactured solid fuels and wood also can only be sold as follows:

All manufactured solid fuels must be certified for use to be legally sold, with the exception of ‘exempt’ fuels. To be sold correctly, the approved Ready to Burn logo must be displayed along with the manufacturer details, and unique certification number. This should either be attached to the packaging or can be displayed at point of sale.

Wood sold in volumes under 2 cubic metres must be certified as ‘Ready to Burn’. To be sold correctly, the approved Ready to Burn logo must be displayed along with the manufacturer details, and unique certification number. This should either be attached to the packaging or can be displayed at point of sale.

ACS has clarified with the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) that the information required to be displayed at POS should ideally be located next to the pricing label or on the shelf for in-scope fuels.

The Defra certification checking tool can be found here.