There appear to be a lot of firelighters at Kaikorai Valley College at the moment, but there is no need to be alarmed.
A group of pupils with a strong business acumen have created a company called Egnite, which has started producing fire starters made from recycled egg cartons, untreated wood shavings from the school workshop, and raw beeswax from a supplier in Mosgiel.
Egnite communications director Eddie Bernhardt said the business venture was the school's latest entry in the New Zealand Young Enterprise Scheme - a year-long secondary school project in which pupils form a company, become directors, and develop products and services which they market.
Eddie said their product was made with 100% recycled material and was packaged in small material bags made out of the old curtains from the school hall.
They created no soot, no fumes, and they burned for up to nine minutes.
"Our main goal to tackle was to create something that was better for the environment than the petroleum-based fire starters which spew all this nasty stuff into the air."
Not surprisingly, the fire starters were very popular at the moment, he said.
"It's freezing. Everyone wants to be in front of a fire at this time of year."
Only two weeks after going on the market, he said they had received more than 80 orders for their packs of 10, from as far away as Greymouth.
The group hoped to start a stall at the Dunedin Farmers Market in the next few weeks, where they would sell the product and spread their message about the environment and sustainability.
