Cedar Mulch

I have read comments saying that rather than buying bagged mulch (which has a high carbon footprint and is made from trees cut for that reason), one should look for local mulch from municipalities or tree care professionals.
I live in Vancouver and would like to acquire about 1 cubic metre of cedar mulch. Does anyone know where one could acquire local, unbagged, mulch? Does the UBC garden, or the City of Vancouver have mulch available?
Any ideas would be appreciated.
thanks
will

 

Definitely get local, yes. And it doesn't need to be from cedars, either; any chipped wood will do. Try local arborists.

 

N0. 6 Road, just less than half km north of Westminster Highway (in Richmond), driving north, on your right. There is a sign and the name of the plant nursery, sorry, I forget the name. They have compost, mulch etc, and sell per truck load, pretty good price.
usually, Rona store, that one close to Alderbridge and No 3 Road, not far from superstore, sells the same stuffs unbagged.
good luck in finding these places.

jessie

 

Actually cedar bark mulch is a byproduct of sawmills. The sawmill near me ships the bark mulch out by the semi load.

For cheap wood chips (vs bark mulch) just contact a tree cutting firm in the yellow pages. These guys are always looking for a place to dump a truckload of woodchips vs paying for disposal. I talked to a firm doing brushing for hydro in my area, and they brought many truckloads for my orchard. I actually had to tell them to stop as my stockpile was getting huge and the heat building up in the (huge) pile from decomposition was getting so hot I was worried about a fire starting that summer.

 

The chips in my truck are more often than not a much better option than most of the products at the nursery/big box stores.

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth or anything, but you definitely want to check what is on the truck. Invasives and undesirables are regularly on board, and although I have a yard to dump good and bad loads at, many operations don't, and won't hesitate to give you whatever they've got if you're willing to take it. Blackberry, Spurge, Holly, Pyracanthos, English Ivy, etc. A relationship with your local arborist is a great way to get the premium loads at no charge!