NEWS! CitiLog

Willem Warmbold & Stubby Warmbold of CitiLog

The CitiLog company has been featured in Timber Frames Unlimited Newsletter. Read about our company and what we're up to here!

A New Year, a New Yard...

Now that it is 2011 some of us start planning our outdoor projects for the spring and summer while we're still cooped up in the house. An ideal species for decking, patios, fences, trellis' and gardens is Black Locust. This is a locally harvested hardwood that is also rot-resistant and GREAT for outdoor applications. This FSC Certified Black Locust will last well over 50 years without significant decay. Black Locust is not pressure treated nor is it harvested in tropical regions over seas, making it a more responsible environmental choice. Contact Black Locust Lumber or go to their website www.blacklocustlumber.com for further information. All products are custom sawn to your specifications and shipped ready for installation. So get those projects drawn up and remember Black Locust as your go-to wood for outdoor applications!

Introducing CitiLog Newark

So what happens to those trees that come down in cities due to storms, construction or hazard?

We've got a solution that takes this tree "waste" and turns it into valuable product locally! After years of hard work the horizon is here and we're looking to manufacture wood products, produce renewable energy, provide permanent green collar jobs, including job training for disadvantaged youth and we're local to boot!

We're going to be collecting downed trees in the area from tree services, municipalities, utilities, Recycle America and construction and demolition jobs. We'll divert this raw material from the waste stream by hauling it to our Newark Urban Sawmill and turn that waste into finished product. These products will include commercial wood products, industrial wood products, heat and power and of course our one of a kind upcycling standard where we take your downed trees and turn them into a custom finished product. (www.citilogs.com) Our products include everything from flooring, molding, cabinetry, and custom furniture to your pallet parts, railroad ties, and tree stakes.

There are excellent social and environmental benefits to this endeavor. Socially, the Sawmill

will employ 56 men and women to stimulate local employment. A huge effort will be put into the job training for disadvantaged youth as we set out to equip young men and women in prisoner re-entry programs. This training will provide them with OSHA work safety skills, knowledge of chainsaw and mill equipment, as well as forklift and finger-jointery operating skills. The long term goal is to make our youth more marketable with their acquired skills for multiple jobs in related fields. The program will also supply each participant with a documented work history including evaluations and an opportunity to continue employment with CitiLog.

Environmentally, all material will come from the waste stream. We will not intentionally take trees down to maintain feedstock. By using these trees as product we are diverting them from contributing to the already overfilling landfills. Carbon is sequestered in all of our products by elongating the life of the tree. We strive to achieve carbon neutrality on site as we produce sustainable energy with a fiber-fueled CHP system. The site is set out to achieve LEED Platinum.

We're excited to get this ball rolling as there is a long road ahead of us! Stay tuned for updates!

Carbon Sequestration

Take a moment and take a deep breath. The quality of the very oxygen we breathe is dependent on the environments that surround us no matter where you are in the world. When it is in danger or threatened by an outside factor we must respond and make a change. This is all we hear environmentalists speak of today. Our governments have even decided to take action on the issue Reuters Article-Where Should the Feds Draw the Line on Green Marketing Claims?. The dreaded word- CARBON. Whether you believe we created the rise in carbon or not- we must take responsibility for our actions. What if we as a responsible society, instead of cowering at the threat of carbon take initiative to capture it, put it to use, educate one another with it and even enjoy it? Our trees can offer this.

Did you know trees are composed of nearly 50% carbon? Through the process of photosynthesis the trees that surround us remove carbon and use it as food. When the trees are diseased, dead and dying or our growth intersects their paths the trees fate can ultimately contribute to carbon emissions. As mentioned in our introductory article, instead of burning or chipping these trees up into small pieces for mulch or waste and releasing carbon into the atmosphere we can literally lock up the carbon. An alternative option for throwing the logs into already overflowing landfills we look to detain the carbon by turning this "waste" into tactile product. Citilog is sequestering the carbon in a progressive way.

Lets say a tree lives and provides oxygen for 100 years. When the tree nears the end of its life the wood is still good. Citilog takes the wood and upcycles it locking the carbon into tables, chairs, flooring, siding, timber frames, benches or bowls for hundreds of years. The tree can be returned to its original site, or taken to new site for use, education and enjoyment for all.

The Avalon Barn: a perfect illustration of carbon sequestration by Citilog. The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid is an insect that feeds on the Hemlocks in the Northern Atlantic region. It took the life of a handful of Hemlocks on the property Avalon Parks & Preserve. Without turning the trees into waste the park upcycled the dead and dying trees for multiple uses in the same project. The Hemlock provided the heavy timber framing which will last for 200 years or more as is. Once the timber frames serve their purpose they can be re-sawn into floor boards, furniture, etc. obtaining hundreds years more of use. If you really want to contribute to full circle recycling the products could then be ground up into mulch or saw dust depending on size and returned to the soil to begin the cycle all over again. This cycle is what William McDonough refers to in his catch phrase and book "Cradle to Cradle". Aside from heavy timber, the hemlock also supplied gorgeous flooring and siding for the project.

Trees are a critical resource that we must recognize as an opportunity. These trees can not only survive one life cycle, but in fact sustain multiple efforts in repurposing. The trees are in your hands, choose wisely.

Trees: Detriment or Value?

Trees provide shade, oxygen, and are aesthetically appealing. It is a shame when our need for expansion aligns head on with the trees on our property, or when trees disrupt our built environments. We cannot stop our growth, so the trees must go. Instead of ripping out the trees and grinding them up into mulch, or throwing them into the already over-flowing landfills there is a light at the end of the tunnel. What if Citilog took these trees from our sites and upcycled them into beautiful finished wood products? Trees can be transformed into useful casework, flooring, furniture, fencing and outdoor structures for years to come. We have the opportunity to memorialize the trees we love and enjoy, but need to remove. Why not repurpose them, giving them value that can educate and be appreciated by generations to come? And at the same time sequestering the carbon in a local environment... imagine that.