Rescue Squad To Sell Saplings To Those Who Don’t Want To Buy Fireworks

While the Rescue Squad sells fireworks before New Year’s to raise money, they have now added a new option for those who don’t want to buy fireworks: saplings, which will be planted in a “New Year’s Forest”.

Fréttablaðið reports that the Rescue Squad has begun the sale of fireworks in earnest. The sales are usually very popular, and remain a large source of revenue for the Rescue Squad.

The revenue generated for the Rescue Squad from fireworks sales has been one of the most prominent justifications for allowing their private sale of fireworks to continue, but rather than push back against critics of these explosives, the Rescue Squad has opted to get creative.

By buying a sapling, the proceeds will go to the Rescue Squad, while the saplings themselves will be planted at a New Year’s Forest at Þorlákshöfn in South Iceland. This project is being conducted in cooperation with the Icelandic Forestry Association.

As reported, there is a growing sentiment that, because fireworks are so polluting, they should be heavily restricted or even banned. This has led a lot of Icelanders to simply forego buying fireworks this year. The saplings, it is hoped, will provide another option for those who want to support the Rescue Squad without buying fireworks.