Former engineer and saw doctor Fred Coulter has now opened a facility in Delacombe which hydraulically crushes discarded wood chips to create high-density fire logs. Sourced from a recycling company, the wood pieces were once destined to end up in landfill.

Called Enviroflame Firelogs, each log weighs around two kilograms and burns for more than three hours.

With two hydraulic presses currently at the Martin Drive site, at peak production the business could potentially supply 6000 homes in Ballarat each week across winter. Mr Coulter said he'd like to see a set up like his in every council area, to reduce the costs of burying garbage.

"It's mainly to stop it going into landfill," Mr Coulter said. "We can do between 20 and 40 tonne a week.

"It's user-friendly, clean, simple and efficient."

Mr Coulter believes the logs are cheaper per kilo than conventional firewood and were easily stackable.

Landfill is currently City of Ballarat's highest carbon emitter. Through the implementation of the Green Waste Collection project in 2016, there was a 17 per cent reduction in emissions at landfill from the financial year 2015-16 and the same period in 2016-17.

READ MORE: Ballarat's journey to carbon neutrality

He said around 20 years ago, his business would compact used wax cardboard boxes, but this changed after recycling providers began selling the material to China.

It was China's sudden refusal to take 24 different types of recycled materials early last year which sent Australia's recycling scheme into chaos and caused different companies to dangerously stockpile the material.

While burning the logs still produces CO2 and can pump particulate matter into the air, depending on the age of the fire or wood stove, the process of burning the compressed wood chip blocks means a reduction in waste to landfill.

For more information, contact Fred on 0401 601 807.

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