Article by Sam Waggener, City of Lone Tree Forester
Did you know that in the United States alone, around 16 to 38 million green tons of wood are removed annually? Urban trees need to be removed for many reasons such as diseases, pests, storms, construction, and safety of life and property. Most trees removed due to these reasons are hauled off to the landfill, burned, or chipped, but often there is a better use of this valuable resource. It’s called urban wood utilization, and it’s the process of converting waste wood into valuable products. Urban wood utilization can be used to make beautiful wood slabs that can be turned into high-priced, wood-producing flooring, benches, tables, and chairs. This wood can also be used for handles for tools, turned into cutting boards, whittled down into utensils for cooking, and even creating beautiful art pieces.
All About Energy
Deadwood art by UK-based artist Mark Laurence
All trees should be looked at from an energy perspective. If you were paying attention in science class, remember the law of conservation: energy can never be created nor destroyed, energy is only converted from one form to another. Well, the same is the case for urban trees- trees exert themselves by absorbing carbon dioxide and water and turning that into the oxygen we breathe. The tree then traps that carbon from the atmosphere and, once the tree has died, the pent-up energy can continue to be stored or sequestered in a repurposed application. This new creation can take many forms, from a piece of art to a tool, a table, or even a cutting board. When urban trees are repurposed instead of being sent to the landfill or burned, they continue to store carbon while reducing the carbon footprint of our cities. Not only reducing the amount of material sent to the landfill (and decreasing energy consumption), but also preserving habitat in natural and urban forests, increasing diversity, and reducing the demand for fresh-cut timber.
Today the EPA reports more than 13 percent of the nation’s waste materials are from trees, bushes, grass clippings, and other discarded vegetation. This equates to 34 million tons of material added to landfills per year, often at a cost to homeowners and taxpayers. It is estimated that the average composition of yard trimmings by weight is about 50% grass, 25% brush, and 25% leaves. Utilizing urban trees for their leaves and branches, along with grass clippings for nutrients, can help reduce landfill waste and add thousands of tons of essential fertilizer back to the soil.
This valuable resource is a huge sustainable economic driver. In 2010, approximately 18.4 million tons of woody yard trimmings were generated in the U.S., including logs and limbs. Of that total, around 4 million tons were available for recovery and had the potential to be used as reclaimed lumber. This repurposed use of vegetation that otherwise would be sent to the landfill can greatly diminish the use of fertilizers, fossil fuels, and land needed for items that otherwise might be discarded. Reducing wood waste in landfills not only benefits the community, increases jobs, and reduces the need for harvesting natural forests.
Ways to Reuse
A wooden vase made from reclaimed urban wood.
Some great ways to reuse that resource are to fertilize your lawn. Don’t bag grass clippings; mulch it so it adds nutrients back into the soil. Branches can be mulched, and logs and stumps can be used to build for a variety of uses around the yard, including as a bug hotel, or used as planters, for use as a birdhouse, in creating dead wood art for your garden, and so much more. All these urban wood utilizations accomplish the same thing: decreasing the amount of material to landfills, increasing biodiversity for your community, and allowing nature to take its course.
Looking for ideas?
Below are links to what local Colorado companies are doing with urban wood utilization. The next step is thinking outside the box on your next project. If you have questions on Urban Wood Utilization, please don’t hesitate to reach out to myself at sam.waggener@cityoflonetree.com or contact your local Urban Wood Network.
https://urbanwoodnetwork.org/listing/city-of-fort-collins/
https://urbanwoodnetwork.org/listing/denver-wood-slabs/
A “bug hotel” made from reclaimed urban wood.