How to recycle wood correctly?
Wood is a noble and versatile material that is widely used in construction, as it has many advantages, including being biodegradable and a good thermal insulator. However, the production and use of wood also has a significant environmental impact, so its recycling is an important task to reduce the ecological impact.
Although it seems like a material that is not recycled in large quantities, the reality is totally different. The recycling of wood contributes to reducing the need and demand for raw materials of first use and, consequently, to prevent more land being used for plantations and tree felling.
Recycling wood can help reduce the amount of waste in landfills and save both energy and natural resources, and it is also one of the cleanest and cheapest forms of recycling because wood does not need any previous chemical treatment to be recycled.
The wood that can be recycled comes mainly from industry, since factories are the ones that reject the most quantities of wooden pallets, furniture, boxes, shavings, sawdust… but there is also a part that comes from clean points, where a lot of broken wooden furniture is rejected.
How is this wood recycling process?
Once the truck arrives at the recycling plant with all the wood waste, the first thing that is done is a weight check and its origin. Once this control has been passed, the visual inspection will be carried out in which the degree of quality and the type of wood that has arrived at the plant will be determined.
Normally, wood is mixed with other waste, such as plastics, cardboard or metals, so they will have to be separated and treated separately from the wood.
After other waste has been removed and the wood has been sorted by type, it is ground into sawdust or shavings. It’s a very simple process that allows you to get a uniform and clean product that will be used to create new wood that can later be used again.
From this very simple process, it is possible to recycle approximately 85% of the total wood that reaches the recycling plants.
What is done with recycled wood?
Once the wood is recycled, it can be used in different ways:
- The sawdust and shavings obtained after the entire recycling process are mixed with glue and resins, and given the shape of wood. This new wood will be cut into planks so that they can be used both in industrial activities and in the manufacture of furniture, among many other uses.
- Another part of the recycled wood is used to make compost and to be used in livestock.
- The crop that cannot be recycled is to serve as fuel for the generation of electricity from incineration plants.
At Pallars Fustes we are very conscious of recycling and taking care of our planet, as we believe it is very important to give a second life to all those materials that can still be used, and thus reduce deforestation and the environmental impact.
