Wood Recycler Joins LinkUp Program

Forest Concepts, Federal Way, Wash., is the newest business to join the King County LinkUp program in western Washington State.

The company is developing an erosion control material made from scrap wood that can be used in place of straw to preserve soil and help grass grow on sloped surfaces.

Forest Concepts’ WoodStraw product can be made from scrap wood generated at construction sites as well as from sawmill trimmings and other sources. Encouraging new markets for what the King County Department of Natural Resources calls “urban waste wood” is a priority for the department because of the considerable construction debris generated in the county.

WoodStraw can be used at construction sites, at highway project sites and in landscaping applications where erosion control is needed. “Not only will this product use urban waste wood in an effective and environmentally friendly way, but it will also reduce the amount of agricultural straw imported into the Puget Sound region, replacing it with locally generated, recycled materials,” notes a King County press release.

The product, still under development, will join Forest Concepts’ ELWd logs, engineered structures made from large pieces of wood debris that are used for salmon habitat restoration.

The LinkUp program that Forest Concepts has joined, which is sponsored by the King County Solid Waste Division, is designed to encourage manufacturers to use more recycled materials in their products.