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By Katie Byard
Beacon Journal online journalist
POSTED: 04:46 p.m. EDT, Apr 01, 2008
Akron has found a way to turn old wood into new trees.
The city is selling the wood from trees removed from city property under a new program dubbed Forest to Furnishings.
The first sale -- completed last week -- was made to Robertson Enterprises of Sharon Township, a saw mill that makes hardwood flooring, baseboards and other items.
Robertson Enterprises bought nearly 90 logs for $4,700. Proceeds from the sale will be used to plant trees.
''By consuming the wood and making it into something that is useable, instead of throwing it in the landfill, that's a lot more profitable for everybody,'' said Charles Robertson, owner of Robertson Enterprises.
Bill Hahn, the city's arborist, said, ''We're making money to put back into tree-planting projects.''
Previously, the contractors who removed the trees would haul the wood away. The contractor would sell the best pieces to mills and sell the lower-grade material as fire wood or turn it into mulch. Some might end up in a landfill.
Robertson's logs are from trees -- deemed hazardous -- that were removed from Memorial Parkway.
''We're not cutting trees to sell,'' Hahn said, ''but removing trees for public safety reasons.''
Robertson plans to turn all of the wood into new uses, or sell it to woodcrafters.
''I have a lot of retired people who come out and buy wood to make bird houses,'' Robertson said.
Lower-grade wood might be turned into tomato stakes.
He even has a market for ''scrap items,'' such as as burls, knots and crotch branches, which are sought out by some artists.
Robertson's son, Eric, already has sawed many of the logs into boards.
Next week, the city plans to cut down about 50 ash trees that are ''older and stressed'' as part of its effort to ward off the emerald ash borer, Hahn said.
Such trees are magnets for the insect, he said.
Logs from those trees will be available for sale.
The borer has killed millions of ash trees in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Ontario, Illinois, Maryland and Virginia.
Locally, it has been found in Medina, Portage, Cuyahoga and Lorain counties.
The larvae burrow under the bark, killing ash trees in three to five years.
The city plans to plant about 80 trees in the areas where the trees will be removed, Hahn said.
Akron has found a way to turn old wood into new trees.
The city is selling the wood from trees removed from city property under a new program dubbed Forest to Furnishings.
The first sale -- completed last week -- was made to Robertson Enterprises of Sharon Township, a saw mill that makes hardwood flooring, baseboards and other items.
Robertson Enterprises bought nearly 90 logs for $4,700. Proceeds from the sale will be used to plant trees.
''By consuming the wood and making it into something that is useable, instead of throwing it in the landfill, that's a lot more profitable for everybody,'' said Charles Robertson, owner of Robertson Enterprises.
Bill Hahn, the city's arborist, said, ''We're making money to put back into tree-planting projects.''
Previously, the contractors who removed the trees would haul the wood away. The contractor would sell the best pieces to mills and sell the lower-grade material as fire wood or turn it into mulch. Some might end up in a landfill.
Robertson's logs are from trees -- deemed hazardous -- that were removed from Memorial Parkway.
''We're not cutting trees to sell,'' Hahn said, ''but removing trees for public safety reasons.''
Robertson plans to turn all of the wood into new uses, or sell it to woodcrafters.
''I have a lot of retired people who come out and buy wood to make bird houses,'' Robertson said.
Lower-grade wood might be turned into tomato stakes.
He even has a market for ''scrap items,'' such as as burls, knots and crotch branches, which are sought out by some artists.
Robertson's son, Eric, already has sawed many of the logs into boards.
Next week, the city plans to cut down about 50 ash trees that are ''older and stressed'' as part of its effort to ward off the emerald ash borer, Hahn said.
Such trees are magnets for the insect, he said.
Logs from those trees will be available for sale.
The borer has killed millions of ash trees in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Ontario, Illinois, Maryland and Virginia.
Locally, it has been found in Medina, Portage, Cuyahoga and Lorain counties.
The larvae burrow under the bark, killing ash trees in three to five years.
The city plans to plant about 80 trees in the areas where the trees will be removed, Hahn said.
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