Camphor Laurel is an imported exotic tree from Asia brought to Australia as an ornamental tree. It wasn’t long until Sth East Queensland and Northern NSW started to be over-run by this now declared Noxious Weed.In recent studies it was revealed that there is approximately 5 million tonne of Camphor Laurel in the North East Region of NSW. But, a solution is at hand, in the form of Condong and Broadwater Sugar Mills investing millions of dollars into a bio-fuels power plant. These 30 meg power stations are using wood waste from saw mills, pallet waste, begasse (the bi-product from sugar cane) and Camphor Laurel. The Camphor Laurel is harvested from private and public land, chipped on site and transported to both Mills.
When reaching the Mill the woody waste is burnt in a controlled manner in steam boilers which drive turbines, then in turn producing power to release only steam into the atmosphere.
EcoClearing is proud to be one of the primary suppliers of Camphor Laurel Chip to this project.
We can assess properties on their viability. Some properties can be harvested free of charge, while other properties may require a small fee in transportation due to their proximity to the power plants. Our Company works in conjunction with all relevant Acts and works under a Code of Practise which has been endorsed by the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC), Far North Coast Weeds and local Councils.
The process is as follows:-
Free site assessments can be carried out on request.
Written agreement prior to entry of property.
Tree’s are cut down using Tigercat Harvester, 24t Excavator with Chainsaw Attachment. These machines cut and hold the tree’s in their entirety placing them on the ground as to minimise disturbance to surrounding tree’s and water courses.
The tree’s are then pulled by either the John Deere or Cat Log Skidders to a central log dump on the property where they are picked up by the 22t Excavator and fed into the Morbark Chipper.
The chip is placed in a pile where it is then loaded into trucks for transportation to the nearest Mill.
The farm is then cleaned by means of stick rake or mulching machines. Sediment and Erosion control put in place, fences repaired and paddocks cleaned.