Recovery and Utilization of Residual Fibre

Through this project, about 325,000 cubic metres of normally unmerchantable wood fibre will be saved from burning in slash piles over the next four years. Much of the forest fibre being recovered includes the tops generated by Weyerhaeuser’s primary harvesting in the Merritt and Okanagan timber supply areas. When a tree is cut up into logs, the tree top is typically discarded as waste and then burned to comply with legal requirements. The goal of this initiative is to recover the tops and convert them into chips for pulp or for use as other secondary products such as fence posts, which will then be marketed in the BC southern interior and coast. Hauling is the largest variable cost, meaning that recovering low-grade fibre, like small diameter treetops, from remote locations is commonly uneconomical. FESBC is augmenting the extra hauling costs over and above the break-even points to facilitate the utilization of fibre that would otherwise be burned.