Tree Salvage

Seeing the Wood from the Trees

An analysis of current and best practises for end-of-life urban trees not harvested for their timber value – by Andy O’Neill

Throughout 2024, ASHS conducted a report delving into how to encourage and facilitate extracting the best value from urban trees, maximising their potential use to prevent them from meeting their end as a wasted resource. The report was led by ASHS member Andy O’Neill, and a phase 2 of the project has been approved by Scottish Forestry to commence this year.

The report is currently in it’s final draft, and will be available for download soon.

Introduction:

Each day across Scotland, both hard and softwood trees come to the end of their lives for reasons other than being harvested for their timber value. These trees are often designated as a ‘waste’ product to be gotten rid of as quickly and cheaply as possible. Due to this, these trees often do not fulfil their fullest potential as timber products capable of generating economic output, remaining sources of sequestered carbon in the form of raw materials for construction or furniture, nor do any social opportunities to support local level circular economy and job creation ever become realised.

Furthermore, when these trees are turned to firewood, biomass or left to rot, their sequestered CO2 is rapidly released back into the atmosphere alongside several other greenhouse gases.

There are reports, albeit more so historically, of trees and potential timber ending up in landfill. Not only will this wood rot and release its CO2, it also will have incurred a landfill tax levy for the local authority to dispose of it in such a manner, which is arguably a poor use of taxpayer money but also morally and ethically abhorrent in this time of climate change.

Currently there appears to be little to no joined up approach between land (tree) owners, tree contractors and sawmillers, meaning these trees and their potential timber resources are destined to continue to meet the same fate and fail to reach the positive environmental, economic and social impacts that they could.

ASHS members - passionate foresters, arborists, sawmillers and woodworkers are leading the charge in creating change which advocates, that trees at the end of their life should be utilised to their highest or fullest potential in a win, win, win scenario under the banner of ‘Tree Salvage’.