More than just sawdust — the pros and cons of the wood fibre industry
Sawdust, mulch, and hamster bedding, all are forms of wood fiber. And there is a lot of it being produced in the Prince George area.
Formerly a waste byproduct, the uses for wood fiber continues to grow in the form of manufactured wood products such as particle board furniture, veneer, flooring, shingles and siding; and biofuel in the form of wood pellets.
As requirements for fiber expand, so do its sources. It’s commonly understood that after a forest fire has burned through a stand of timber, its value is lost and that loss can be recovered by extracting fiber from it.
CFUR News talks to Dr. Phil Burton, recently retired from UNBC’s Environmental Science department. He admits that there are many good reasons for removing some trees from a stressed forest, but the research shows that it can go too far.