All of our handmade wood products are made from recycled trees that had to come down from homes or developments. We hate to see trees come down, but sometimes tree roots cause home foundation damage, fall over from rain storms, or are at risk of falling. If you need to remove a tree, contact us below, and we’ll connect you to one of our certified partnering arborists, who’ll give you a discount on your removal for recycling the tree with us.

Tree Removal & Recycling FAQ

What trees can we recycle?

We work with home owners and commercial developers to recycle a wide range of tree species in Bay Area, California, including redwood, cedar, pine, cypress, oak, walnut, acacia, ash, bay laurel, cottonwood, sycamore, eucalyptus and more. Tree trunks must be at least 18 inches diameter measured 4.5 ft above the ground.

When can you NOT recycle a tree?

If you have already chosen and signed a contract with another arborist, we cannot recycle your tree. Unfortunately, many arborists do not have the equipment and training to cut down the tree into logs that are able to be repurposed. And often many of the arborists found online are not licensed, bonded, and insured. Reach out and we can refer you to one of our licensed, bonded, and insured partnering arborists, who will give you a discount on your removal for recycling with us.

How much does it cost to remove my tree?

The cost of removing one tree can vary greatly as wide as $3,000-15,000 depending on the size of the tree, number of trees, location access, and the complexity of the removal process. You will want to get a quote from a licensed, bonded, and insured arborist who can assess the specific circumstances of your situation and provide a more accurate estimate.

How much can I save by recycling with Bay Area Redwood?

We help you save $300-1000 by eliminating green waste disposal fees. Typically after an arborist takes down a tree, they chip it and dispose it at a green waste facility. Arborists pay the green waste facility a minimum of $50 per ton. Bay Area Redwood lets our partnering arborists dispose logs at our recycling yard for free. And we have our partnering arborists pass these savings onto you!

Can Bay Area Redwood cut down my tree?

No, Bay Area Redwood is not a licensed arborist to cut down trees. However, we partner with several licensed, bonded, and insured arborists, who have the equipment and training to remove and recycle your tree. We will recommend an arborist in your area and act as a project manager for facilitating the tree removal and recycling. We recommend contacting us early on so we can help you get accurate quotes without worrying about disposal costs!

Should I used a licensed, bonded, and insured arborist?

Yes. When you google for arborists, be sure to check their license is valid on cslb.ca.gov, and that they are bonded and insured. Being insured protects against financial damages in case of an incident, accident, or property damage that arises during the removal. Without this type of insurance, an accident occurring on your property could place potential liability on you. It’s also important to use a tree service that maintains workers compensation insurance, so you are not held liable if one of their workers gets hurt on the job while on your property. All of Bay Area Redwood’s partnering arborists are licensed, bonded, and insured.

Will Bay Area Redwood buy my tree or logs?

No, Bay Area Redwood does not purchase wood, logs, or trees from any residents or arborists. If your tree is being cut down, we can help you save some of the cost by having one of our partnering arborists do the removal.

What kind of discount can I receive on wood products, or products from my recycled tree?

You will receive a 10% discount on any one Bay Area Redwood product.

You may be able to get a 10% discount on Bay Area Redwood products made from your own tree. Note that depending on the species, it can take 6 mo - 3 yrs for your tree’s wood to cure and dry before we can manufacture furniture from it. However, if you want rough sawn lumber for outdoor fencing, decking, and pergolas, check out our milling & dimensional lumber service. Redwoods and cedars can be used within weeks of milling for outdoor material.

SB1383 compliant recycling

As a SB 1383 compliant recycler, Bay Area Redwood is committed to keeping organic materials out of the waste stream to fight against climate change. We recycle and repurpose nearly a 100% of the logs we receive. Even off-cuts of our furniture wood is repurposed for community projects, like park fencing and animal scratch posts at Oakland Zoo. See our community involvement.

Tree Removal & Recycling Form

If you’re interested in removing and recycling your tree, fill out this form and we’ll reply in 1-2 business days.

We have a set of licensed, bonded, and insured arborists we partner with, and we’ll recommend you the best one based on your location, site access, and tree size to ensure the job is done well. All of our partnering arborists will give you a discount on the removal for recycling the tree with us.

You’ll also receive 10% off on any one Bay Area Redwood product

When you recycle your tree with us, we’ll also give you 10% off on one Bay Area Redwood table, desk, coffee table, or mantel.

Check out our Products

The Tree Recycling & Reclamation Process

Learn more about how a tree gets recycled at Bay Area Redwood.

Felling

We hate to see it happen, but trees are felled everyday for a variety of reasons. Some causes are natural including erosion, senescence, and wildfire while others are purely anthropogenic such as space for housing developments, invasive roots, and property damage. Whatever the reason, Bay Area Redwood works with certified partnering arborists to cut these trees into large segment upon removal. Once the tree is out of the ground, we haul it to our log recycling yard located in Livermore.

Milling & Curing

After logs are dropped at our facility, the manufacturing stages of the process begin. We start by milling each log into slabs or dimensional lumber, which are then stacked to optimize air flow for the drying process. Milled wood dries at varying rates depending on species, dimensions, and weather conditions, but it can cure at our facility for as long as 3 years before it is ready for finishing.