As the emerald ash borer devastates urban ash populations, an Ottawa hardwood floor manufacturer has been working to keep 2,600 affected ash trees out of the dump by turning them into flooring, according to an article in Metro News Ottawa.
"We knew that the emerald ash borer was coming, and [we] were talking about taking ash out of our product line," said Greg Gaylord, co-owner of Gaylord Forest Products, told Metro News. "But when we saw our lumber suppliers were overwhelmed with ash wood, we saw it was an opportunity."
Kiln-drying the wood kills any remaining bugs, and it can then become beautiful, ecologically friendly flooring.
"There was a guy who came in looking for bamboo flooring because it was green. But I explained to him that it's coming in from China on these huge ships," Gaylord told Metro News. "He ended up going with the ash, just because he loved the story."
