Shoppers slam Bunnings Warehouse over seemingly innocent picture

April 7, 2021 Ava

An Australian shopper has been left furious over a seemingly innocent display of outdoor gear at Bunnings Warehouse on Wednesday.

The display, which showed off the hardware giant’s winter fire pits, was slammed as ‘totally unacceptable’.

The photograph was posted on Twitter by the ‘Ban Recreational Wood Burning’ page.

‘Promoting these polluting firepits. Do you promote cigarettes as well? Firepits emit much more toxic pollution then cigarettes,’ the post read.

© Provided by Daily Mail
An Australian shopper has been left furious over a seemingly innocent display of outdoor gear at Bunnings Warehouse on Wednesday.

‘It’s time to make sales of wood burners illegal. Clean air is a basic human right. Not Karen using her firepit,’ it continued.

But the complaint didn’t get much support from the Twitter community.

‘Nothing like a few mates gathered around the fire with a few beers. Even better when you can cook on it. I love the smell of wood smoke,’ one man wrote.

Bunnings Warehouse Outdoor Living Category Manager Mick Heanue also commented on the complaint, telling Daily Mail Australia: ‘All our fire pits comply with state and national safety standards.’

Some readers actually thanked the page for the heads up after spotting some fire pits they liked in the picture.

‘Thanks for the reminder – I’m gonna fire mine up tonight. Won’t use it for warmth but it’s always nice to watch through the windows from inside the house. Can’t wait,’ said one man.

‘Thanks for letting me know, will pick one up before it gets cold,’ another added.

Others called out the use of the name ‘Karen’.

‘Karen is actually one complaining about people using BBQ in the park so (the page) is actually being a Karen,’ one person said.

More people joked that fire pits were amazing for bringing family and friends together and ‘scaring off the “woke”‘.

‘Is it OK if I burn old furniture in my fire pit? Shouldn’t stink too much once the vinyl has burnt off,’ said another.

But the page’s author was not amused by the reactions.

‘It’s a definition of a Karen when their privilege effects others human right to clean air,’ they countered.

‘Any exposure of wood smoke isn’t good for us. Wood smoke lingers to other peoples homes.’

The account has just 97 followers and constantly posts about the impact of wood burning.

‘Wood smoke is more harmful then cigarette smoke. It also spreads, with one pound of wood burnt equal to 6000 packets of cigarettes,’ the page wrote in a recent post.

‘I imagine those who admit to liking wood smoke also smoke cigarettes. You cannot despise cigarettes yet like wood smoke. It’s hypocritical.’

Bunnings Warehouse currently have 30 different firepits for sale ranging from $19.95 to $549.

Bunnings Warehouse Outdoor Living Category Manager Mick Heanue said: ‘Customers should check in with their local council for fire pit use regulations relevant to where they live.’

What impact does burning wood have on health and environment?

According to the Victorian Government’s Better Health webpage, there are some health and environmental concerns at the government level.

HEALTH

Smoke from wood fires contains gases and particles that can reduce indoor and outdoor air quality, and potentially affect people’s health. Wood smoke is generated from wood heaters, incinerators, open air burning and bushfires.

People who are most affected by wood smoke include those with heart or breathing conditions (including asthma), people with vascular conditions such as high blood pressure and those with complications from diabetes, smokers, frail older people, infants and very young children. There are a number of actions you can take to prevent or reduce the potential health effects of wood smoke.

Most healthy people recover quickly from exposure to wood smoke and do not suffer long-term effects. It is not known how low the level of fine particle pollution must be for it not to affect health.

The degree of health effects that someone may experience depends on how much smoke the person is exposed to and for how long. Symptoms of smoke irritation include itchy eyes, runny nose, a sore throat and coughing.

ENVIRONMENT

Wood smoke is a complex mixture of gases and particles. These gases and particles are air pollutants. The main air pollutants in wood smoke include carbon monoxide and fine particles. Other pollutants include nitrogen oxides, benzene, butadiene, formaldehyde and polyaromatic hydrocarbons.

Source: State Government of Victoria

Source: Thanks msn.com