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Urban Wood Utilization in Connecticut: Benefits of Urban Wood Utilization

Economic Benefits:
  • Recovering the costs of removing damaged trees.
  • Reducing costs derived from tree waste disposal and the avoidance of tipping fees.
  • Source of income for the community.
Environmental Benefits:
  • Reducing harvesting pressure on natural forests.
    • The utilization (recycling) of municipal trees can contribute to the conservation of forestland resources by generating wood products from trees that need to be removed anyway.
  • Reducing the volume of waste disposal and wood in landfills.
  • The sequestering of carbon.
    • Urban wood that stays as wood, such as in high-end furniture, stores carbon for an extended period of time.
  • Reduced carbon emissions.
    • Because urban wood originates in population centers close to processors and end users, transportation distances and associated emissions are minimized.
  • Contributions to global and local community sustainability.
Social Benefits:
  • Education of the public about the value of their trees.
  • Education of the public about responsible management of the urban forest.
  • Better connecting people to the natural world by encouraging them to see where products made of wood come from.
  • Providing support for local economies.

Park bench carved from urban wood, Wethersfield, CT
This bench on the Broad Street Green in Wethersfield was carved from the trunk of a pin oak that fell down during the 2009 tornado. The tree on the right has been planted as a replacement for the one that fell.

Resource:

The Delta Institute (2014) - Urban Wood Best Management Practices

 

Urban Wood Utilization - Introduction and Table of Contents

Content last updated October 2019