Giving fallen urban trees a second life.

What is Responsible Wood Products?

RWP creates wood products sourced from logs we recover from Pittsburgh-area communities. We recover logs from urban trees scheduled for removal by certified tree service companies. Without recovery, these logs might be sent to landfills or turned into firewood or wood chips. When wood decomposes in a landfill, it can release carbon dioxide and methane, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. By transforming these logs into lumber and other useful products, we extend the life of the wood, keep valuable materials out of landfills, and store carbon for longer.

Ultimately we will also use waste from the milling process to create biochar, a soil amendment that helps to remove toxins from soil, improve water filtration and soil quality.

How RWP creates value from locally sourced trees

RWP’s practice of creating value-added products starts by discussing recovery with the property owner and the certified arborist to ensure the logs are usable when we pick them up. Our experienced sawyer then chooses how to mill the log to yield the best return with minimal waste. Once milled, the boards, beams, and other dimensional lumber are organized into stacks to allow airflow to start the natural drying process. Using a moisture content meter, we monitor the moisture levels of boards for months (and sometimes up to a year) until the lumber has dried enough to enter our vacuum kiln. Once properly kiln-dried, the lumber is now ready for retail purchase.