The residue from tree surgery and other park and
garden maintenance work (arboricultural arisings) is potentially
suitable for woodfuel.
In Scotland, the Aboricultural
Arisings Scotland Study 201 [PDF], commissioned by Forestry
Commission Scotland, estimated that just over 700,000 tonnes of
arboricultural arisings are produced in Scotland each year.
However, much of this consists of green material which is unlikely
to be suitable for woodfuel, and some is already used for woodfuel,
for other products, or is composted.
Arboricultural arisings of suitable quality for woodfuel could
make a valuable contribution to local woodfuel markets,
particularly for local authorities. Local authorities carry
out a large number of tree surgery operations but may not
have enough woodland resources to fuel their own woodfuel
installations - arisings could supplement their supply. Forestry
Commission Scotland are currently examining possible ways to
utilise this resource.
Arboricultural arisings can have a high moisture and bark content,
generating a large amount of ash when burned. This may make some
arisings unsuitable for some wood fuel systems, especially domestic
and small scale ones. They also require careful screening for
foreign particles such as stones and wire.