The provincial government is providing $12,000 to the Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable to encourage residents to replace their old wood stoves with cleaner burning models.
The funding comes through the provincial government's wood stove exchange program and provides residents with a $250 rebate on the purchase of any new certified domestic solid fuel burning device or high efficiency appliance, including gas, propane, pellet or electric stoves.
This year $190,000 is being provided to 13 communities though the Wood Stove Exchange Program.
Since it was launched in 2008, over $2.3 million has been provided to purchase over 6,000 cleaner burning models, equating to a reduction of more than 370 tonnes of particulate matter being pumped into the air, according to the provincial government.
All new wood stoves and inserts sold in B.C. now must meet Canadian Standards Association (CSA) emission standards or U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emission standards.
New emissions-certified wood stoves burn one-third less wood and reduce smoke and particulates entering the atmosphere by up to 90 percent.
