Geminor handled more than 104,000 tonnes of waste wood for material recycling in 2021, the company says, 80,000 tonnes of which was handled and treated in Denmark.
This represents an increase of 30,000 tonnes (60%) on 2020 levels.
Freja Bechmann, development manager at Geminor DK, said: “The waste wood market is growing considerably in Europe. In one year, the prices have increased fivefold due to higher demand both within material recycling and energy recovery in Scandinavia and Europe.”
This year, Geminor expects to increase the amount of waste wood it handles and treats in Denmark to more than 120,000 tonnes, Ms Bechmann added.
Demand
Ms Bechmann said there was now a higher demand for waste wood in Europe “than we have experienced in a long time”.
She explained the demand by citing factors such as increased panelboard production, combined with the “general lack” of biomass feedstock and a current ban on Russian wood.
Ms Bechmann added: “At the same time, we are noticing a more positive attitude towards facilitating waste wood recycling both in Denmark and internationally.
“Wood constitutes an increasingly important part of the circular economy in the EU, which is also why we are intensifying our efforts within this fraction.”
Exports
All the A2 waste wood that Geminor DK exported from the Scandinavian country last year went to material recycling, the company says. A2 waste wood is non-treated, non-virgin material which typically comes from packaging, scrap pallets, and offcuts.
Prior to export, the material was first sorted, ground and quality controlled at Geminor’s ‘hub’ in the Danish city of Køge. Geminor then shipped the wood to Riga, Latvia, for use in panelboard manufacture.
The company says it collects waste wood from both municipal and private waste wood producers in Denmark.
Established in Norway in 2004, Geminor has logistic hubs and offices in Scandinavia, Finland, the UK, Germany, France, Poland, and Italy, and employs more than 80 people.
The company says it handled 1.73 million tonnes of feedstock in 2021 and holds contracts with more than 350 waste producers and 180 EfW and recycling facilities.
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