Company:

Innovation Station Limited

Project:

The Leaf Log®

Year:

2008

Status:

Regional Winner

Peter Morrison of Innovation Station – a company who’s function is to find innovativesolutions – had the idea that we could use the abundant dead leaves we find in thewinter months as fuel. He didn’t know how at the time, but after twelve months anda lot of perspiration he has found a way – the Leaf Log®.

The Leaf Log® is a biomass solid fuel,made from leaves and a bonding agent. It can be used for heating stoves,wood burners – anywhere one would usually use coal or wood and if you have an open fire at home, one of these logs will burn for 2 hours. Moreover, it cuts the 45 minute preparation time for coal fires because you can store the Leaf Log® inside, light the bag and away you go! Such convenience and simplicity are obvious benefits, but the environmental advantages, though less obvious, are no less significant.

Typically, dead leaves are dumped en masse in landfills and one of the problems with leaving wet leaves like this is that they give off methane (a more poisonous gas than carbon). In contrast,when leaves are burnt, they only give off the carbon they absorb while on the tree – they add nothing extra to the environment. The Leaf Log® will reduce the amount of coal and landfill we use. Peter Morrison summed up the ecological simplicity of the idea:“Nothing needs to die for this product to exist and each year nature provides us with an abundance of leaves. Why not use them?” Why not indeed.