I did not find a good thread on starting the fire on this forum so I will start one. I have seen people demonstrating getting the fire started in a RMH using everything from repeated wads of burning paper shoved in the burn tube to using a propane torch.
I propose that we should be using something that minimizes the smoke back while being beneficial to the wast stream. So here is my video on how I repurpose something that goes into the land fill because it doesn't fit in the current recycle model at your local market. Just think less smoke in the house and less waste in the land fill and it works; triple whammy.
http://youtu.be/pj97taDCgIs