Every year 3 to 6 billion trees are cut down. The lumber from these are then distributed amongst industries. 46% of the lumbers is consumed by the energy industries, 42% by non-lumber industries and 11% by construction industries.
5.6% of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is made up of salvageable woods. In the year 2007, 1.3 trillion tonnes of woods was recovered from MSW.
The US forest service stated that salvaged timber from tree removals in country's urban areas could produce 3.8 billion feet of sustainable lumber. Which in turn could be used by environment friendly companies for new constructions.