Using small diameter trees for wood fiber-plastic composites

Abstract

(Please note, this is an extended abstract only) P&M Plastics, Inc. ("P&M" or the "Company" began operation in 1998 as a result of efforts within P&M Signs, a sister company, to develop a new composite material to be used for external signage-one more rugged than wood. The result of these efforts is a 40% woody biomass and a 60% plastic (HDPE) fortified wood composite. The composite was appropriately named AltreeTM and was patented. AltreeTM was chosen because the woody biomass is made up of small diameter trees and includes the trunk, limbs, bark, needles, and berries. Thus, no additional residue is created during harvest, adding more fuel to an already catastrophic situation.

Parent Publication

• Ecology, management, and restoration of pinon-juniper and ponderosa pine ecosystems: combined proceedings of the 2005 St. George, Utah and 2006 Albuquerque, New Mexico workshops

Citation

Archuletta, Phil T. 2008. Using small diameter trees for wood fiber-plastic composites In: Gottfried, Gerald J.; Shaw, John D.; Ford, Paulette L., compilers. 2008. Ecology, management, and restoration of pinon-juniper and ponderosa pine ecosystems: combined proceedings of the 2005 St. George, Utah and 2006 Albuquerque, New Mexico workshops. Proceedings RMRS-P-51. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 170.