Wood Recycling

Over 2 billion cubic metres of wood is harvested worldwide each year.

The UK is accountable for around 50 million cubic metres of this amount.

The construction industry alone produces over 800,000 tonnes of waste wood every year. Packaging waste such crates and pallets creates a further 700,000 tonnes, and believe it of not general household wood waste is accountable for around 400,000 tonnes annually also.

Recycled wood has many uses and can be used for

Fuel (Wood fired boilers)

Chipboard
Chipboard is used in the manufacture of fibreboard and MDF mainly used to produce furniture.

Animal bedding
The largest use for the animal bedding market is for cattle bedding and bedding for poultry.

Composting

Surfacing
Demand for recycled wood is ever increasing for use in horse gallops, children's play areas and golf pathways. Coloured wood chip is becoming ever more popular to create visually attractive public areas and suppress weed growth.


How is wood recycled?

The wood waste The All Clear Company collects is separated and loaded ready to be sent to a specialist wood recyclers. At the recycling plant the wood is cleaned and processed and any contaminants removed. The wood is then ready to be re-used. Some resulting products will be made entirely from wood waste and others will contain a proportion of other materials.

Wood recycling plants are now able to process over 30 tonnes of wood waste each hour. Many plants are fitted with a series of magnets, trommels and screeners which identify and remove more contaminants than ever before.

Did you know?

• Just 15 years ago over 90% of recycled wood waste was use to manufacture chipboard, fibreboard and MDF. This was then mainly used for the building of furniture.
• Landscaping products, animal bedding and surfacing were only just starting to be used as an alternative for recycled wood.
• The furniture market was still the major consumer using around 60% of all recycled wood but the other markets started to expand year on year. These new recycled wood products are now starting to help ever increasing sustainability targets and forest preservation.