Systemic Urban Wood Recycling

A collaborative initiative between the City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the company Urban Ashes has resulted in the establishment of a new municipal program focused on the systematic recycling of urban wood. The operational framework is termed the Circular UrbanWood Triconomy (CUT Model).

The urban wood recycling process works with trees that are removed from urban and suburban areas due to age, disease, or storm damage. These materials are traditionally chipped, burned, or sent to landfills. The Circular UrbanWood Triconomy model steps in to generate simultaneous environmental, social, and economic benefits from this byproduct. Environmentally, it seeks to increase carbon sequestration by converting wood into durable products rather than releasing its carbon through decomposition or combustion. The program also creates employment and vocational training opportunities for individuals who were previously incarcerated or are justice-impacted youth. On an economic note, it aims to reduce municipal waste management costs and develop a local resource stream for lumber and wood products.

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