California Urban Woody Green Waste Utilization

"When urban trees are damaged or dead, their disposal can be a big financial burden for a homeowner or responsible governmental agency. Traditionally viewed as waste, much of this material has been historically dumped in landfills. Some of the larger material has been used for firewood, and some has been chipped or ground for mulch. More recently, there has been a growing awareness of the tremendous potential value of the larger woody material (sawlogs) for lumber production.

"Although concern about reducing the amount of solid green waste going to landfills was the major catalyst for conducting this study, identifying the size and potential value of this urban tree resource for solid wood production may be even more important.

"This study is to be accomplished in three phases. This report deals with Phase I which involves: 1. determining the volume of sawlog-size material currently being removed from urban sites, 2 determining the amount of woody green waste going to landfills, 3. identifying key milling operations currently using urban saw logs, and 4. presenting the costs and methods of milling urban sawlogs. Phases two and three involve the identification of new and existing niche products and the marketing of these products, respectively. Although effective marketing of this material is an important key to successful economic utilization of urban sawlogs, the production of value-added products is equally important." [from website]

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