WOODY RESIDUES AND SOLID WASTE WOOD AVAILABLE FOR RECOVERY

Large amounts of woody residues and solid wood waste are generated annually in the United States from the extraction of timber from forests, from forestry cultural operations, in the conversion of forest land to nonforest uses, in the initial processing of roundwood timber into usable products, in the construction and demolition of buildings and structures, and in the manufacture, use, and disposal of solid wood products in the municipal solid waste stream (MSW). Much of this material is indeed waste, but large, increasing shares are now becoming valuable resources. Here we examine the two major sources of waste wood from roundwood in the United States- woody forest residues and primary timber processing mill residues. These two sources generated a combined total of nearly 178 million metric tons of woody residues in 2002, with 86 million metric tons being unused and deemed available for recovery. In comparison, urban waste wood in the MSW stream and the construction and demolition (C&D) of buildings and structures generated 63 million metric tons of waste wood, with 27 million metric tons remaining unused and deemed available for recovery. These estimates are based on published waste generation rates and reco-verability, measures of economic activity, and trends in virgin wood use in specific markets. Waste wood from lesser sources and from catastrophic natural events that may be disposed of outside of the normal waste streams are not examined here