Reusing Demolished Material
Today we talk to Ben Patton of TreeCycle, a Vancouver-based company focused on helping construction companies use more repurposed wood.
While working as an arborist, Ben noticed that 90% of the wood he dealt with was either turned into firewood or wood chips or just thrown in a pile. He found himself wondering why more of this wood wasn’t being used as lumber. One day he dragged a log behind his van and milled it down himself in order to make a coffee table.
This experience and these concerns drove Ben to find some partners and start a company to facilitate the recycling and reuse of wood waste from construction sites. TreeCycle now recovers wood from demolition projects and repurposes it into structured lumbers, dimensional lumbers, raw timbers, siding, and more.
Sometimes Ben’s company handle the process directly, and sometimes they consult with companies who want to handle the process themselves. They coordinate site-source separation, clean up the wood, categorize the boards by size and type, and store them for future use.
We explore the financial aspect of reclamation and recycling. An increasing number of customers are willing to invest in reducing their environmental and climate impact. To be sure, this requires some extra time, effort, and money. The cost can be reduced, however, with careful planning. TreeCycle aims to offset the time and expense by saving companies money on lumber.
We discuss how the 2021 spike in lumber prices added some momentum to their operation. Then Ben mentions a few specific products that his company produces:
Cross-laminated timbers (CLD)
Dowel-laminated timbers
Glue-laminated timbers
Substitutes for pressure-treated wood (including a non-toxic solution that is still being developed)
We LEED certification and other efforts toward documenting carbon footprint and discuss approaches that seek genuine change rather than just checking boxes for looks. TreeCycle’s business is aimed to take companies and projects beyond greenwashing and into authentic investment in reducing waste. It’s about sourcing something from 4 miles away rather than 100 miles away.
Anyone who has attempted to repurpose lumber knows that boards can be filled with nails and screws. Ben discusses how TreeCycle addresses these issues and talks about a pending partnership with Urban Machine.
Ben’s Megaphone Message: We need to look toward reducing as much waste as possible. It might take just a little more time and a little more effort, but it is a lot better for the planet if we start making these efforts.
Find Ben Online:LinkedIn, Treecycle Canada
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