Friday, May 29, 2009

12 noon-3:30pm (lunch provided)

Manhattan Borough President’s Office

1 Center Street, 19th Floor South

*free event, open to the public*

Sponsored by:

Staten Island Borough President James P. Molinaro,

State Senator Liz Krueger,

State Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh,

Councilmember Oliver Koppell,

Rainforest Relief and

NY Climate Action Group

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, an

area of rainforest the size of a football field is destroyed every

second—that’s an area the size of Manhattan every three hours. 

The use of old growth tropical hardwoods by New York City agencies has

been recognized by Mayor Bloomberg as a significant contributor to

global climate change: 25% of human-caused carbon emissions are the

result of deforestation. Yet New York City remains the single largest

consumer of tropical hardwoods in North America.

SCHEDULE

12:00-12:30: Lunch

12:30-1:00: Welcome and Introduction

Tim Keating, Executive Director, Rainforest Relief, The Role of

Tropical Wood Use in Deforestation and Climate Change

Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh, State Legislation on Tropical Hardwoods

1:00-2:20: Recycled Plastic Lumber

Dr. Thomas Nosker, Professor, Rutgers University AMIPP, The History

and Technical Development of HSTL Materials

Mick Langford, Trelleborg, Pilings, Bumpers and Ferry Terminals from

Recycled Plastic

George Nagle, P.E., Axion Intl., Axion Recycled Plastic Lumber

Malcolm G. McLaren, President, McLaren Engineering, The Use of RPL for

Marine Applications.

2:20-2:30: Break

2:30-3:10: Domestic Woods

Klaas Armster, Owner, Armster Reclaimed Lumber, Durable Domestic

Woods: Their Properties and Availability

Michael Corsello, President, Nash Lumber, Cambia™ Thermally Modified

Hardwoods

3:10-3:30: New York City Parks

Celia Petersen, R.L.A., Director, Office of Specifications, New York

City Department of Parks and Recreation, Bamboo Benches, ‘Burnt’

Boards and Assorted Atypical Alternatives — NYC Parks Department’s

Experience with Alternative Materials

During the 20th century, in an effort to create safe and functional

infrastructure for our City, agencies turned to the use of tropical

hardwoods. They built tens of thousands of park benches, 12.5 miles of

boardwalk, dozens of miles of subway tracks, the fendering and pilings

of the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, the decking of South Street

Seaport and the Brooklyn Bridge promenade. This adds up to millions of

board feet of tropical hardwood—and the loss of countless acres of

rainforest.

If there were an economically viable and ecologically sound material

for public outdoor infrastructure, strong enough that the U.S. Army

Corps of Engineers used it to build bridges for tanks, wouldn’t you

choose that instead of rainforest wood?

In February 2008, the Mayor's Office of Long-term Planning and

Sustainability crafted the Tropical Hardwoods Reduction Plan, which

calls for a 60% reduction in city agencies’ use of rainforest wood by

2020. However, with newly proposed marine transfer stations,

miles-long renovations of Hudson River Park and dozens of other

projects—none of which are counted in the OLTPS Reduction Plan—NYC is

geared to double its consumption of tropical hardwoods.

Our City can do better. We can institute a smart, responsible

procurement policy that prevents the unnecessary destruction of

pristine rainforests.

All of the outdoor infrastructure currently using tropical hardwoods

can easily and readily be constructed with alternative materials such

as recycled plastic lumber. This high-tech material, invented at

Rutgers University and favored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

will last far longer than any wood. The switch to RPL would utilize

NYC’s plastic wastes, create local industry and local jobs, reduce

pollution and save public funds by eliminating the maintenance costs

of rotten and worn wood. City agencies could also opt to build with

durable domestic wood, produced from local sustainable forestry

operations.

Many forward-thinking engineers and designers have already embraced

materials that protect rainforests and spark local economies. The

Chicago Transit Authority has utilized more than 125,000 RPL track

ties for their light rail system. RPL ferry terminals have been built

in many sites around the country and internationally.  Here in NYC,

the Parks Department has recently switched to domestic wood for park

benches, thus eliminating the use of 50,000 board feet of tropical

hardwoods each year. They’ve also committed to building new boardwalks

without any tropical hardwood.

Join us for an afternoon of informative presentations by the nation’s

leading experts on the use of recycled plastic lumber and domestic

hardwoods in public outdoor infrastructure. Together, we can design,

build and repair our City without harming the planet.

For more info or questions:

RainforestsofNewYork.org  *  RainforestRelief.org

917-543-4064  *  rainforestsny@gmail.com

http://www.friendsofbrookpark.org

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can't be active, please $upport your local environmental activist.

646.648.4362

PO Box 801

The South Bronx, NY 10454