The proposals, to the Waste and Resources Action Programme, come as the Wood Recyclers Association emphasises the need for diversification within the wood recycling sector to ensure there is a variety of outlets for recycled wood.
The wood for processing by wood recyclers, usually through the use of wood shredders which are often capable of processing over 30 tonnes an hour, comes from a variety of sources: wood waste from construction and demolition, furniture manufacture and joinery, civic amenity sites and waste transfer stations, and household timber waste.
It is estimated that more than 90% of the product from the wood recycling sector goes to the particle board manufacturers who produce chipboard, fibreboard and MDF for use in construction, furniture manufacture and DIY. The remainder is used as animal bedding, riding and playground surfaces or as coloured mulch, and sold to local authorities, garden centres and golf clubs for path cover and landscaping.
Wide demand
Wood Recyclers Association chairman Michael Tracey, of Tracey Timber Recycling Ltd, said: “With no disrespect to our valued customers in the panel board sector, a healthy and wide demand for our products is necessary. The signs are that wood recycling in the UK is set to double over the next four years, and we need to find new, and develop emerging markets for wood chip, such as pulp and paper, plastic and wood composites as a wood substitute, and composting and land remediation.”
The WRAP competition will give grants to increase UK wood reprocessing capacity in both the panel board sector and other wood recycling applications. Several million pounds is on offer with funding offered on a competitive basis and judged against set criteria including, value for money and commercial viability. The process is on a fast track with awards due to be made next month with the intention that the new capacity to come on line during 2002/2003.
Overall WRAP’s objective is to double wood packaging recovery and to achieve 40% recycling and re-use of construction and demolition wood waste a year by the end of 2003/2004. But it has ruled out the use of recycled wood as a product for use in energy production. One wood sector expert told letsrecycle.com that this decision needed to be reviewed by WRAP because waste wood “provides a viable energy source and is in line with government thinking on the development of bio-fuels as alternative energy resources. It appears that there is no co-ordinated thinking on this matter.”
Assets
Some criticism was levelled at WRAP by wood recyclers over the way the organisation wants to keep hold of the assets created by the competition. WRAP explains that it wants to make the results of its work as “widely and freely available as possible so it is for the good of the sector as a whole.” So, “all capital equipment purchased from the WRAP support will remain the property of WRAP,” although other rules may apply if WRAP is meeting only part of the cost.
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