Search

..................................

Select Level of Detail

At a Glance

General

Technical

............................

+ Urban Biomass Resources - Miscellaneous Other Urban Wood Wastes

............................

Access BioWeb Content

Search

Explore By Topic

Browse Index

............................

BioWeb Glossary

Search

Alphabetical Listing

............................

Contributors Log in

bioweb.sungrant.org » Technical » Biomass Resources » Urban Biomass Resources » Miscellaneous Other Urban Wood Wastes

Miscellaneous Other Urban Wood Wastes	Printer Friendly

Other potential sources of urban wood wastes include those generated from the maintenance of municipal parks, utility line and right-of-way maintenance, urban land clearing, residues from commercial nurseries and landscapers, etc. Data is very limited and dated. In 1994, the NEOS Corporation conducted a survey of commercial and government groups that potentially generate wood wastes. Included in the survey were commercial tree care firms, municipal/ county park and recreation departments, municipal/ county tree care divisions, electric power line maintenance operations, nurseries, landscapers, and excavators (land clearance). Data was collected for wood, grass clippings, and leaves. Rooney (1998) summarized the study and converted quantities from the original cubic yards to dry ton quantities. The author estimated a total of 47.9 million dry tons of material generated, of which 45.4 million dry tons was wood. The study noted that 54% of the wood chips were given away and that 15% were sent to landfills.   The municipal solid waste (MSW) data includes yard trimmings and the USDA Forest Service includes land clearing operations in their Other Removals category, so it is possible that much of the waste material is included in the estimated MSW and forest sector resource estimates. Wood residues produced as a result of storm events are also sometimes included in the urban resource description. These quantities can be large, but are also intermittent and random in occurrence, which precludes them from being reliable sources of material for bioenergy and bioproducts.

References
NEOS Corporation. (1994). Urban tree residues: Results of the first national inventory. (Final Report). International Society of Arboriculture Research Trust. Allegheny Power Service Corportation and National Arborist Foundation. Rooney, T. (1998, September). Ligonocellulosic feedstock resource assessment. (Report No. NREL/TP-580-24189). NEOS Corporation.