Home » The Wood : Benefits of Urban Wood

Benefits of Urban Wood

The innovative Urbanwood program encourages municipalities to recycle their dead street and park trees into high quality products. This helps all of us:

  • Communities have more options to use, rather than throw away valuable wood. This is one more way that we can help our cities responsibly manage our natural resources. In addition, recycling can help cities reduce their wood disposal costs.
  • Area wood industries have access to a new sustainable source for raw materials and are building stronger partnerships with local communities. This helps businesses to develop new products, create jobs, and keep dollars in our local economy.
  • Customers have new opportunities to purchase locally made green building products. Not only are these products made from wood recovered from the wastes of Michigan’s neighborhoods, they don’t require the huge transportation burden that many otherwise environmentally friendly products (such as bamboo) have.
  • Capturing the highest and best use of removed urban timber puts less strain on our natural habitats and forests to supply us with usable wood products and building materials. This is an important step in protecting our forests and reducing our overall ecological footprint. A single mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 lbs./year and release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support 2 human beings A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.

When you purchase flooring or lumber from Urbanwood.org, you help our community conserve forest resources, support good urban forest management practices, help the growth of the local economy, and replant trees in your community, all while making a smart environmental choice.

Get Involved

Get Help

Get In Touch