From Pallets to Poplars

Earlier this year David Hewson from Environment Canterbury’s Resource Care Section rang to enquire whether Waste Exchange could help access oversize wooden pallets. David needed extra long pallets in order to transport poplar poles to Masterton, where they were to be used to stabilise hillsides against erosion. 

David hadn’t used Waste Exchange before but a colleague referred him to the service, and fortunately it was not in vain. Waste Exchange facilitator Jim Forsman was able to supply oversized pallets of untreated softwood which could hold the three metre long poles. Normal pallets were too short to support the poles. Like pine saplings the poplar poles are planted to prevent erosion. They are cut down in the nursery to a size of three metres long and approximately wrist size in circumference. They are planted to a depth of one metre and within a few months they begin to grow. In the space of two-three years they are proper poplar trees.
The poplar saplings prove to be more drought resistant and wind resistant than other types of tree, and due to a temporary oversupply this year Environment Canterbury was fortunate enough to be able to send some to Masterton for erosion prevention. Naturally, most of the saplings are used within Canterbury. They have been planted large scale in areas such as Greta valley, Cheviot, and in certain Waipara wineries, and have also been used in smaller amounts throughout the Canterbury region.
David collected 18 of the oversize pallets to trial. He chain sawed off the two side sections and used this timber for strengthening, and to make uprights to hold the poles in place while they were being stacked. Typically 200 poles would be staked on a pallet at a time, weighing over a tonne. The pallets have made pole transport much easier and cheaper, and the pallets sent to Masterton arrived in perfect condition. David has since collected a further seven pallets, and plans to make use more pallets again next year.