Keeping Fireplaces Safe

If worries about fireplace fumes leave you cold, warm up to recycled fire logs, which steer clear of dangerous toxins like petroleum and paraffin wax found in traditional "logs." Cleanflame Firelogs make use of otherwise unrecyclable waxed cardboard. They burn more cleanly than artificial logs and roast marshmallows to perfection. The bags of recycled-paper briquettes from Simplefire are equally earth conscious and easy to use -- the bag goes straight into the fireplace. Even synthetic standby Duraflame has introduced a natural product, albeit not entirely recycled: Its All Natural Firelog uses vegetable and plant waxes instead of petroleum.