I took a tree to the refuse tip the other day. The attendant there said I couldn't put it in the wood skip! She said it wasn't wood! I understand why she said that but it sounded very strange 'that tree isn't wood' I know this isn't a question but it made me laugh.
I can see the reason for the attendant saying what he did - a tree is a living thing untouched by man and is perfectly bio-degradable in its natural state -
Wood on the other hand is generally treated with chemicals,glues, full of nails,screws etc. which generally aren't good for the enviroment or the shreder which the tree would be put through.
Hope this explains the attendants reasoning -
Makes you wonder about the efficiency of our education system, doesn't it?
This is due to an ever increasing number of trees that are made from MDF these days. I think you will find that forestry legislation means says that whenever a tree is felled another two of the same size must be planted in it's place, this is another EU legislation brought in to increase red tape production in the red tape factories of northern france.
Actually a tree is wood. The raw material that comes from it once machined, planed,shaped etc. is timber; which is made out of wood (the tree). So your attendant should on those grounds stop anyone putting anything but trees in that skip.
An alternative view is that the person making the statement may have actually recognized, as an example, that the tree to be disposed of was, perhaps, a Bamboo, which is really a type of grass but yet we all call it a tree, do we not?
We have the same type of problem at our so-called recycling centre. Big skip with a sigh on it that says 'Natural Wood Only-
NO TREES'
And all you seem to hear about these days is Its good to recycle, yeh right
Believe it or not thereason is quite simple. Most places pass on any timber for recycling to a charitable set up. Yes your tree is wood. However, it goes under the heading of 'garden waste' and gets shredded for compost or chipped for mulch. Your tip should be set up to receive both. If not I suggest you tell them to wake up and get with it.