Lawmakers call for restrictions on sale of wood contractors cut from city treesBy Wu Su-wei and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerNew Power Party (NPP) Legislator Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) yesterday called for laws prohibiting the sale of wood obtained by contractors pruning urban trees. Chuang said that vendors buy wood to process into sawdust and are offering NT$1,600 to NT$2,300 per tonne, regardless of wood type. “I wonder if the aggressive pruning of trees nationwide could be considered illegally selling national property,” he said. Taipei City Tree Protection Committee member Ho Cheng-han (何承翰) said that government agencies view trees as just environmental aesthetics, and are prone to hire contractors at a minimal cost. Setting up storage for pruned wood would increase overhead costs for schools and other organizations, Lin said, adding that contracts should state how much wood should be removed.

Source: Taipei Times May 08, 2020 15:56 UTC