The TreeStation project report

About the report

An investigation into the feasibility of setting up a network of wood processing depots - or TreeStations - in the UK. The timber investigated, in order to add value to it, is from tree surgery waste and from small broadleaved woodlands.

Published September 2001
Pages 140

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Executive summary

The aim of the TreeStation project was to investigate the feasibility of setting up a network of wood processing depots in the UK. The timber to be processed, in order to add value to it, is from tree surgery waste and from small broadleaved woodlands. The project was funded by the Forestry Commission, WWF, the Norlands Foundation and Shell Better Britain Campaign.

Several hundred Woodland Initiatives over a period of 10 to 15 years have sought to answer the same questions as the TreeStation project. It is logical to assume that if there was a simple answer and an obvious route to profit it would have been found already. However, that said, this report finds that under certain conditions a TreeStation is feasible. The feasibility of a "network of TreeStations" is qualified to be a series of standalone TreeStations with a "TreeStation Champion" employed to help others set up future TreeStations. The person would act as contact point for skill sharing and information dissemination.

A TreeStation is defined as:

• A collection point for local timber arising as a result of either tree surgery waste or of local woodland management.
• A processing point to add-value to the local timber
• A sales outlet for the processed products, this could also include a woodland management service.

"Local" is defined as a 15 miles radius, though this will vary according to the location of the TreeStation.

The methodology of the project was a mixture of desk research, visits and telephone conversations with public, voluntary and private-profit making organisations working in the field. An analysis of actual and theoretical costs of production was also undertaken.

The outputs of the TreeStation project aim to act as a toolbox for organisations considering setting up a TreeStation.

The first output is this report. The research suggested that a TreeStation would be different in different areas due to the availability of local resources and access to local markets. For this reason the report lists a portfolio of products and services that a TreeStation could supply. The target markets and main considerations for each product are discussed. For those products and services considered to be feasible, the set up and operational costs of production are detailed. Illustrative case studies have been included.

The report includes a description of three different types of TreeStation to illustrate different mixes of the listed products and services:

The first is a TreeStation in a peri-urban area processing tree surgery waste to produce Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) charcoal, FSC firewood and woodchip as a biofuel. This TreeStation also offers a woodland management service to FSC standards. A business plan is included for this peri-urban TreeStation. During the course of the project this TreeStation was implemented. The aim of this is take the reader beyond the theory to investigate the practicalities of operating a TreeStation.

The TreeStation is located in Croydon and is a fully functioning demonstration business that can be visited.

The second TreeStation is in a rural area. The TreeStation will be a sawmill and workshop. Products are those that increase public access to and enjoyment of the countryside. Examples are stiles, gates, waymarkers, bollards, barways, orienteering posts, information boards, picnic tables and benches. . Woodchip will be produced for heating the TreeStation. The aim would be to provide a market for sawlogs from local woodlands that are currently undermanaged. The TreeStation is located at Norbury Park in Surrey.

The third is for another rural TreeStation. The TreeStation will be a large-scale charcoal production plant [Note: to be included later] located in the South East of England.

The project concludes that if grant funding can be secured for the capital cost of set up, then a TreeStation can be a self-funding operation. In the best case, in a periurban situation a TreeStation can be a zero cost option for the sustainable management of green wood waste from arboricultural arisings. In the best case in a rural area a TreeStation, that has as its core business large scale charcoal production for a regional market, could make a healthy profit and provide a market for pulpwood from local woodlands [NOTE The business case for large scale charcoal production is not included, and has not been proven at this stage, but will be an extra section written by Pooran Desai].

The study concluded that the two most viable products were firewood, for the domestic market, and woodchip, as a renewable energy biofuel.

Although the biofuel industry is robust in many countries, in the UK industry it is in a fledgling state. The appliances available for burning wood chip to produce heat are tried, tested and reliable. However, many installations in the UK are failing. Much time was spent during this project identifying the reasons for failure. The study concluded that the reason for failure is that wood chips are being supplied at the wrong moisture content and the wrong shape. This conclusion was checked with the leaders in the biofuel field, who were in agreement with this finding.

The poor quality of woodchip that is being supplied is threatening the successful establishment of the industry. The biofuel industry in the UK will only survive if there is a sea change in the way in which the production of wood chip is viewed. The UK trade association for biofuel, British Biogen, is doing sterling work in this area, and they and other organisations listed in the report, can offer all the guidance necessary to achieve the correct quality of wood chip. What is needed is not more research but a change in attitude to wood chip production. This report includes a section on how to produce wood chip for use as a biofuel. This is illustrated by documenting the logistics and costs involved in setting up the TreeStation at Croydon to supply a wood chip powered combined heat and power gasifier to supply the heat and electricity for BedZED, an eco-housing development.

The main market barrier to woodchip supply is the uncertainty involved in the price that will be paid for the woodchip. The price varies throughout the country, though most of this data is confidential, the author was able to find actual prices ranging from £6 to £35 per tonne. A more realistic price is £40 per tonne. This issue needs to be addressed if woodfired heating is to become a successful industry in the UK.

It is a central finding of this report that in order for a TreeStation to benefit woodlands market access is needed for as many grades of timber as possible. Good markets for higher-grade sawlogs already exist, unfortunately in general typical broad-leaved woodlands in the UK only produce a small number of such logs. Harvesting and transporting costs are disproportionately higher for small woodlands, and the supply chain for small quantities has broken down, with timber merchants being generally only interested in larger quantities. The report concludes that the woodlands that are considered best to be targeted are those owned by local authorities and by landowning non-governmental organisations, such as the Woodland Trust, the National Trust and the Wildlife Trusts.

The report recognises that the primary management objective is likely to be conservation or recreation rather than commercial timber production. Such objectives are likely to yield lower quantities of timber, but it is still essential that the timber reach the market in order to pay, in part or in full, for the cost of the woodland management. The result would be an increase in woodland management and a decrease in the amount of timber imported - benefiting the economy and the environment.

This report finds that if markets can be secured for the low-grade timber then it becomes more profitable to extract the higher-grade sawlogs. It is noted that in many cases even if all of this low-grade timber and the high-grade sawlogs were sold the cost of woodland management may not be met in full. However, the sales revenue would significantly offset woodland management costs. This would need to be balanced against the value of the woodland resource in terms of non-timber benefits such as for amenity, recreation, education, carbon dioxide emissions and biodiversity. It is recognised that it is not easy to put a value on such benefit.

With the exception of large-scale charcoal production, the markets the project has identified as the most feasible to penetrate are those that are motivated by environmental and social objectives as well as economic ones. This report identifies these markets and includes some social and environmental arguments that could be used to help form these partnerships and gain a hold on the markets.

It is thought worthy of note that the majority of literature in this field is grey literature and by its nature very hard to locate. There is no one organisation responsible forcollating the research and it has been very clear from discussions with many people working in this field that the discovery of information becomes more down to luck than judgement. This unfortunate state of events has resulted over a period of years in a lot of duplication of work. This report aims to begin to address this shortfall by being a reference guide to some of the work that has been done in the field. The report includes a contact list of useful organisations.

Download report PDF
........................................................................................................
BioRegional is a registered charity – if you would like to make a donation for this report please visit www.justgiving.com to do so securely on-line – suggested donation £4.00.  

Your support will help us to continue developing vital solutions for sustainable living.