Using a truckload of wood pellets, to protest the Company's continued use of coal, Environmental activists today blocked the coal depot of Fonterra's factory near Timaru.

Greenpeace protestors deserted three tones of wood pellets in the depot which provides coal to the boilers and four locked themselves to equipment to stop coal deliveries in a bid to persuade Fonterra to switch to a "cleaner" fuel.

Two years ago, Fonterra had stopped taking coal for its Clandeboye plant, from the Ohai mine owned by Solid energy, and stated taking about 130,000 tons a year from Australian-owned Eastern Coal Supplies at Takitimu mine, near Ohai.

Coal is a fossil fuel which has high levels of greenhouse gas emissions; therefore Greenpeace has criticized Fonterra for not switching away from coal to cleaner alternative fuels.

"Fonterra's decision to run its factories on coal rather than clean alternatives epitomizes not only the global climate crisis, but also the very serious economic challenge facing New Zealand," said Greenpeace climate campaigner Simon Boxer.

Last November Greenpeace November protested against the lignite coal mine supplying Fonterra's Edendale milk powder factory, and four activists were arrested after trying to block access to the New Vale mine near Gore.

A Fonterra spokesman in Auckland said that latest complaint was "disappointing" and potentially dangerous, but had no effect on the milk factory's operations. They said that they had been using the best mix of energy sources available and were looking for ways to be more energy efficient.