PORTLAND, Oregon — It’s been a month since we saw our record-breaking snow and ice storm. It was an event that knocked out power to thousands and took out hundreds of trees. So, what happens to all of those downed trees? Well, one company has been turning some of those trees into furniture.
ECO-PDX is tucked away in the industrial area of Northwest Portland. Its owner Eugene Park works with suppliers to help him gather downed trees.
“We work with a lot of architecture firms, general contractors and we design and build spaces,” Park said.
However, the process of collecting the trees and repurposing the wood doesn't happen overnight. Park said it could take months to a couple of years before the wood becomes furniture. Since, it first has to be milled and then dried before it can used.
Some of the wood that's been recovered over the years, Park has turned into beautiful pieces of furniture. A lot of the projects are used for anything from benches to even table tops. He said that his company has also made slab tables and even bathroom vanities from downed trees.
As long as we’re still seeing active weather, many of the trees that came down in January are going to keep Eugene and his team busy for years to come.
The city of Portland also uses some of those downed trees for environmental restoration projects, and they also give some trees to the Oregon Zoo for use in animal enclosures.