Taking inventory of woody residuals

Abstract

USDA Forest Service analysis finds 104 million tons of woody residuals available for recovery in the U.S., with wood in MSW and C&D debris streams comprising 28 million tons. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service conducts a variety of analyses to estimate the quantity of woody residuals in the United States. Its Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin does research to estimate the types and amounts generated, and what portion of those tonnages are available for recovery. The data from these analyses are very useful to wood recycling enterprises. They help in identifying sources to process, and markets for services that help foresters clear and pro-cess the downed woody debris that otherwise poses a significant fire threat. This article provides highlights of the data collected. Major sources of solid waste wood gener- ated in the U.S. that are analyzed by the Forest Products Laboratory include munici-pal solid waste (MSW), construction and de-molition debris, primary timber processing mill residues, and logging residues. The next step is to estimate what is recoverable. Recoverability is defined as total waste gen-erated, less amounts currently recovered, combusted or considered unusable. Table 1 summarizes the findings of each of the sources of solid waste wood.

Citation

McKeever, David. 2003. Taking inventory of woody residuals. Biocycle. (July 2003): pages 31-35.