Wales Environment Trust

There are a number of key drivers encouraging an increase in the amount of wood waste recycling within Wales including the Landfill Tax Directive, the National Waste Strategy for Wales, and the Climate Change Levy (encouraging the use of renewable energy). With the addition of wood packaging to the Packaging Regulations in 2000, accredited reprocessors can generate packaging recovery note revenue. However, whilst this is encouraging packaging wood recycling, it is increasingly favoured over the recycling of other wood waste.

A steep rise has already been seen in the level of wood packaging reprocessed in Wales, with 6 of the 31 UK reprocessors located in the country. These 6 reprocessed 200,000 tonnes of packaging wood waste in 2002, a 69% increase on the 2001 figure.

The major reprocessor within Wales is Kronospan, who use chipped clean wood waste (recyclate) as a feedstock in their chipboard manufacturing process. However, with only 10% of this recycled fibre provided by companies located within Wales, the contributions to wood recycling within Wales by the other 5 reprocessors are very significant. In addition, some of the South Wales chipping companies currently supply to Nexfor, a particleboard manufacturer in Devon, rather than Kronospan in North Wales.

We have companies within Wales who have made a substantial investment in reprocessing equipment and are supplying to a wide range of markets, with end products including mulch (natural and organically coloured) for landscaping, cattle, horse and poultry bedding, a surface for equestrian arenas, in addition to supplying the chipboard industry.

The main barriers to recycling which currently exist in Wales include:

• Finding higher value applications for wood waste
• Finding applications for painted and preservative treated wood waste
• Securing contracts for supply to the chipboard industry (which can leave chipping companies with mountains of wood chip at a given time)
• Securing contracts for a guaranteed supply of wood waste from Local Authorities.
• The inability to secure contracts makes the capital investment required uncertain, and end markets unreliable.

There are many furniture redistribution schemes within Wales, redistributing furniture (of which the majority is either wood, or contains wood) to the disadvantaged in society, a valuable contribution that encourages reuse.

A number of small scale businesses and community groups within Wales also make a valuable contribution to wood recycling, using wood waste in making interesting craft items and furniture, as higher value applications for clean wood waste.

Email: info@walesenvtrust.org.uk