Cleaner smoke from Polytechnic heating boiler

Otago Polytechnic is well on its way to an environmentally friendly future, says sustainable practice manager Steve Henry, pictured with woodchips, which replaced coal for heating fuel.

The polytechnic showed its staff and students' sustainability related projects at a display fair on campus yesterday.

The fair coincided with polytechnic sustainability director Jean Tilleyshort announcing a 73% reduction on particulate emissions from heating.

Since the polytechnic switched from coal to woodchip fuel for its boiler in May 2013, smoke particle emissions had dropped, first to about 15mg per cu m, and then down to about 9, she said.

''We've been working on reducing our emissions since 2008, and [coal burning] was an obvious problem.''

Coal burning had been the main source of particle emissions until the switch, she said.

The 9mg per cu m was less than a fifth of the city limit, set by the Dunedin City Council, of 50mg per cu m.