What is the point of chippers?

[Squaredy]

OK I know chippers are to chip brash and help clear a site.  But what I really mean is why do tree surgeons and arborists generally dispose of waste with a chipper?

 

Forgive my ignorance as I am a miller not a tree surgeon, but unless there is no space (eg a domestic garden) why not just leave neat piles of brash and small diameter logs?  This would be far better for the environment and the thousands of species who need deadwood surely?

 

Is this driven by the customers eg road authorities who think leaving piles of logs will invite trouble?

 

I got to thinking this when a neighbour of my work site had a tree surgeon in to reduce a Red Oak in her garden; and the tree surgeon chipped all the waste (on to my site).  It was totally pointless as I would have quite happily given permission for them to leave it all unchipped, and the forest where this took place has thousands of trees felled every year as part of forestry thinning and none of this is ever chipped.

 

What am I missing?

[Mick Dempsey]

[Mick Dempsey]

Chipping will reduce the space needed to remove waste by up to 10x.

[Rough Hewn]

Chip is a product.
Lots sell to biomass companies.
[emoji22]

[Spruce Pirate]

Chipping also reduces the handling.  It is much easier to simply feed brash into a chipper than to stack it in even the roughest of piles.  Branch into chipper - branch gone.  Branch put in a pile - branch in the way of the next bit you want to pile up, trip over branch, just a general pain in the neck.

[Squaredy]

6 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Chipping will reduce the space needed to remove waste by up to 10x.

Yes I realise this, but what about when there is no need to remove waste, like my neighbour?

[Mick Dempsey]

It’s more work stacking piles of brash and cutting stuff into logs than stuffing it in a chipper.

Edited October 26, 2020 by Mick Dempsey

[Squaredy]

4 minutes ago, Rough Hewn said:

Chip is a product.
Lots sell to biomass companies.

Yes now this is different of course, but most tree surgery waste is chipped and left on site (eg road verges) or removed and tipped simply to dispose of - hence the tip site directory on Arbtalk.

[Lowestoft Firewood]

? I think 95% of customers wouldn't have space for a trees worth of brash piled in their garden. 

[Squaredy]

Just now, Lowestoft Firewood said:

? I think 95% of customers wouldn't have space for a trees worth of brash piled in their garden. 

Yes I did say I understand lack of space in gardens....but what about huge roadside verges?