Recycle Anyone?

Wasn't that a great meeting in June? Bet you were thinking of all the things you could do if you only had the space for all those fantastic, BIG machines! That pattern maker's mill was particularly impressive! It was a delight to see Leon recycling these massive machines that would have ended up in the scrap heap if he hadn't revived them. Leon also talked about the other kind of recycling he does: using low-grade lumber that others would have thrown away and turning it into something beautiful. Also think back to the beautiful, whimsical chair that member Larry Berger showed us last month. Just some twigs and a cast off boards, and -- "Viola!"-- a useful, rustic chair! So we don't always need to use new wood to make stuff.

Bill Tarlton, president of the Diablo Woodworkers, uses another approach to salvage wood. He is constantly searching for trees from our Urban Forest (you know street trees or trees in homeowner's yards) to harvest. He mills the lumber himself, and then turns them into bowls, vases, small boxes, etc. On his website he talks about what species are the best to use for each type of project. You can see his work at www.billswoodcreations.com.

Several local cities are giving contractors incentives (or mandates) to recycle lumber and other construction debris that would otherwise end up in the landfill. And last June we toured the "tree recycling yard" of the P.A.L. Foundation in Oakland where they recycle castoff wood into useful lumber, flooring, etc. Learn what's currently available from them at http://www.recycletrees.org/

So just before writing this column I ran out into my backyard and checked the small decaying pile of wood from an Oak tree they cut down on my property two years ago. The tree was nearly dead when it was cut down, so much of the lumber has just continued to rot away. But there are a few pieces that are 8 inches or so in diameter by about 4 feet long. Anyone want to make something out of this? Call me and I can bring some to the next meeting.

And speaking of cast-off wood, as I drive around my rural neck of the woods I've noticed that every industrial or warehouse type business has a stack of pallets outside. They're hoping someone will take them so they don't have to haul them to the landfill. In the Bay Area some people have a business of collecting these things and selling them back to a pallet recycle warehouse -- like recycling soda cans. Here no one does that and eventually the business owner has to pay to have this junk hauled to the landfill. The problem has always been that the poor quality of the lumber, and you have to expend a lot of labor to tear them apart and cut up the pieces. But if anyone is interested call me. I can load a few into my pickup and bring them to you at the next meeting. Come on, let's recycle!