Why do we waste so much wood in the USA?

[enigmaT120]

Referring back to my original post - when a logging operation ends, what happens to all those chunks off the butt of the tree that get trimmed off by the processor?  I have seen photos and video of massive piles of spruce, fir and cedar chunks where, if they were all dropped in my yard, I'd have firewood for years and I wouldn't complain a bit.

I used to get wood cutting permits from Weyerhaeuser and Boise Cascade, to cut wood from their slash piles.  A lot of it just gets burnt.  I just walked through a new clear cut near me and saw all those butt ends in a pile, and I still want to get the firewood from them even though I have more than I can use from my PC thinning operations on my own property. 

[Weekend_Sawyer]

The logging operations that I have seen operating in my little slice of heaven (Eastern pan handle of WV) not only cut timber but firewood too. Now the 3 operations I have been able to see up close are all small operations. 5 guys or less. They cut timber, haul pulp and make a large stack of firewood and sell that too. The landowner gets a cut of it all.