Gadsden County Times

Unemployed Trash Burners

Not so very long ago huge and busy trash burners, two or three stories high, adjoined the lumber mills. They belched smoke and fire as they disposed of the great amount of waste that resulted when trees were transformed into boards and shingles and other such natural products.

It's very different now. The burners are pretty generally if not entirely idle. They're unemployed. For nowadays almost nothing is wasted. Almost everything that comes from a tree - all the bits and pieces, all the odds and ends - has a valuable use.

This is the fruit of research and experimentation. More than 4,000 products are made from wood, wood fibers, and wood chemicals. A few of them: Cellophane, plastics, insulation, lacquers, photograph film, shotgun shells, fabrics for clothing, furniture, boxes and cartons.

It's analogous to the old saying that packers use all of the pig but the squeal. The tree that once was part of a forest serves us every day in an almost incredible variety of ways. And we're going to keep on having forests, due to modern "sustained yield" logging methods, based on the tree farm idea, where new growth equals or exceeds the cut.

So this country's supply of wood and its 4,000 by-products is assured. And that's a matter of top importance. For wood, despite the development of competitive products, holds its preeminent place in our lives, because of its attractiveness, durability, adaptability and economy.