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.
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