Last month I wrote about greener ways to grill and one of the suggestions was to skip the lighter fluid. Taking my own advice, I was scoping out the household goods section of my neighborhood grocery store last weekend when I saw these biomass firelighters.
Made by the environmentally conscious company If You Care, these firelighters are made from FSC-certified wood and 100% non-GMO vegetable oil. Unlike lighter fluid and other similar products, they do not contain toxic petroleum distillates, which produce volatile organic compounds and increase ground-level ozone. To better explain the materials and benefits, the company has also produced this graphic product lifecycle:
To use, just place 3-4 cubes on top of charcoals or wood and light on the fractured side of each cube. In addition to grills, they can also be used for fireplaces, wood burning stoves or outdoor fire pits.
Another alternative to lighter fluid, charcoal chimneys are metal cylinders that use only newspaper and a flame to get a fire going. Have you tried firelighters or chimneys? Which method do you prefer?
(Images: 1. Lauren Zerbey, 2. If You Care)
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I realize I sound like a broken record here, but FSC is not terribly responsible so far as the environment is concerned. Biomass especially is controversial. We still don't know if the forest can recover the nutrients (calcium and magnesium) in the soil once we drag out all the course woody debris and standing dead trees, which provide vital resources to the soil and invertebrates, who are eaten by the mammals and birds, and who control tree diseases. What's more, FSC logging roads allow poachers to kill and sell endangered species. This is well established in the research.
Please read this study for a scientist's view. It is them who should be making the determination of what's eco-friendly, not the product maker.
http://www.jstor.org/pss/2641988
(Or Google: Timber Certification: where's the voice of the Biologist?)
what about newspaper and a charcoal chimney starter? is this greener? with newspaper, you're reusing something that would go to waste otherwise. thank you emmi for your comment. couldn't agree more. let's talk about ways we can make things better, not sell gimmick products in the name of "being green".
btw, who gives a crap if the vegetable oil we burn is non-GMO?...that's just silly. hopefully conscientious consumers will be smarter that to buy such an irrelevant product.
Charcoal Chimneys are the way to go. Here's a few tips on using them and even making your own over at The Kitchn: http://bit.ly/lJlgYB
You don't even need a chimney. Whenever we cook something that leaves extra oil or grease, we sop it up with some kind of paper. Then, keep a collection in the fridge, and pull it out when ready. Just pile a pyramid on top of the wad and light it. It works great!
great idea, natalie!
Great comments and I'm glad to hear people weigh in on charcoal chimneys.
I really believe that living green is about educating yourself and making the best decisions in any given situation. Even though there might be better/simpler ways to solve a problem without buying a specific product, I believe there is a benefit to displaying a more environmentally-friendly product right next to a more toxic one. While the merits of a particular green product are always debatable, showing consumers that there is an option might be the eye opener they need to understand that the standard product is toxic/unsustainable in the first place. (In other words, maybe someone wouldn't think twice about buying a bottle of lighter fluid until they saw that there was another option.)
And I'm glad that this can be a forum to discuss and offer up additional ideas or suggestions. Everyone's experiences are different and sharing what's worked and what hasn't is a great resource!
Greenwashing what?
I learned how to make the best fire starters as a Brownie Girl Scout:
* Save your paper egg cartons, the lint from your dryer and left over candles or paraffin.
* Fill each carton cup with lint.
* In an empty tin can, melt the wax/paraffin then pour it over the lint in the cups about 3/4 full.
* Let dry and tear cups apart. When you're ready to start a fire, just light a corner and toss it in.
Thanks, Naturally Handy. It's a good thing we have the freedom to discuss these matters, and to inform each other. You know the product-makers sure won't.
My dad and I made a chimney starter out of old coffee cans we welded together when I was a kid (the handles were made of old wire hangers). It wasn't the prettiest thing, but it WAS free and worked great for years and years...fueled by junkmail :D
We use a charcoal chimney and it's been excellent. No lighter fluid, no other funky products. I'm not opposed to these firelighters, they're just not my choice.
I wonder if products like this have any impact on the flavor of the food, assuming you're grilling. Or do they burn away completely before you'd be putting on the food?
These seem unnecessary, and buying something like this (esp. just to turn around and burn it) feels fundamentally un-"green." Definitely agree with most of the above comments. Further, I'd like to know what type of vegetable oil goes into them since many veggies used to make vegetable oil are heavily water intensive and not particularly sustainable crops, even if they are non-GMO.
@LaurenZ - I think your point is really valid, thank you for sharing. I forget that while I may be living in a little environmentally conscientious bubble other people just aren't. Offering them "better" options is a good place to start.