Icelanders set off 500 tonnes of fireworks on New Year’s Eve, equivalent to less than 2 kilos of TNT per person.
Despite a fundraising drive held by the Icelandic Rescue Squad which encouraged people to buy fireworks from them in order to raise money, rescue squad chairman Kristinn Ólafsson told RÚV that sales this year were actually similar to sales the year previous.
At the same time, Kristinn said that sales went beyond expectations, and he was proud of the results, despite the fact that tighter economic times did limit the selection of explosives available somewhat. 80% of the income the rescue squad takes in comes from fireworks alone.
But don’t think that just because New Year’s is behind us that the fun’s over yet. 6 January – the last day of Christmas – is traditionally a day that fireworks are also set off, and minor acts of vandalism are engaged in. If you have any left over explosives, save them for this day.
Related article:
New Years Eve Bad For The Environment
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