Letter to the editor
Woodchip values
Vince Phillips, Corporate Affairs Manager of the Eden chipmill (Magnet 20/8/09) has claimed that woodchips are a high value product because a tonne of copy paper costs $2,000.
I would like to point out that NSW taxpayers receive on average approximately $56 in royalties for the 4 tonnes of trees that Mr Phillips' company chips to make that tonne of paper.
That $56 does not cover the costs that Forests NSW incurs in making available that quantity of wood.
There is something being added there, but I'm not sure I would call it "value."
Harriett Swift
Chipstop campaign against woodchipping

22 August 2009