Tag Archive for: recycling

Wood vs. Plastic – A Quick Comparison

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As sustainability becomes an increasingly important factor for businesses, industry experts are continuously exploring the most eco-friendly packaging solutions. Two of the most widely used materials in packaging are wood and plastic.

In this exclusive Nature’s Packaging blog post, we will compare the environmental impact of wood vs plastic packaging, addressing factors such as production energy, recyclability, and biodegradability.

Production Energy: Wood Packaging Takes the Lead

When comparing the energy required to produce wood and plastic packaging materials, wood emerges as the more sustainable option. Wood packaging production typically consumes less energy and releases fewer greenhouse gas emissions than plastic production.

The lower energy demand can be attributed to the fact that wood is a naturally occurring material, whereas plastic is derived from non-renewable fossil fuels, like oil and natural gas. Moreover, wood acts as a carbon sink, storing carbon dioxide throughout its life cycle, which helps mitigate climate change.

Recyclability: A Mixed Bag of Results

Both wood and plastic packaging can be recycled, but the recycling rates and processes for these materials differ significantly.

Wood packaging, such as pallets and crates, can be easily repaired, reused, and eventually recycled into wood chips, mulch, or particleboard. While the recycling rate for wood packaging varies depending on local infrastructure and initiatives, its recyclability remains a strong point in its favor.

Plastic packaging, on the other hand, presents more challenges when it comes to recycling. While some types of plastic can be recycled multiple times, others can only be recycled once or not at all.

Additionally, plastic recycling rates are generally lower than those for wood, and the recycling process can be energy-intensive, reducing its overall sustainability advantage.

Biodegradability: Wood Packaging Shines

In terms of biodegradability, wood packaging stands out as the clear winner. Wood is a natural, organic material that decomposes over time, breaking down into harmless substances that can be absorbed back into the environment. This process not only reduces waste but also returns valuable nutrients to the soil.

Plastic packaging, however, does not share this advantage. Most plastics are not biodegradable and can persist in the environment for hundreds of years. Even biodegradable plastics, while an improvement, can take years to break down and often require specific conditions for proper decomposition.

Wood Packaging as a Sustainable Choice for Industry Experts

To achieve sustainability goals in the supply chain, we must weigh the environmental impacts of the materials we choose for packaging solutions. This comparison of wood and plastic packaging highlights that wood is generally a more sustainable option, given its lower production energy, recyclability, and biodegradability.

While plastic packaging may offer advantages in terms of weight and durability, it’s essential to consider the broader environmental implications. By prioritizing sustainable materials like wood and encouraging innovations in eco-friendly packaging, we can drive our industry toward a greener future, where the environmental footprint of packaging is minimized, and a circular economy becomes a reality.

The Life Cycle Assessment: An Essential Tool For Wood Packaging

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In the wooden pallet and container industry, we recognize the growing importance of sustainability in our decision-making processes. To make informed choices about the environmental impact of our packaging solutions, we need accurate, comprehensive data on the materials we use.

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a valuable tool that allows us to evaluate the environmental performance of wood packaging materials, from raw material extraction to end-of-life disposal or recycling. In this Nature’s Packaging blog post, we’ll explore the key components of the LCA, its applications in the wood packaging industry, and how it can guide us towards more sustainable practices.

Understanding Life Cycle Assessments

A Life Cycle Assessment is a systematic method for evaluating the environmental impact of a product, process, or service throughout its entire life cycle. LCA’s takes into account various stages, including raw material extraction, material processing, manufacturing, distribution, use, and end-of-life management. By analyzing these stages, LCA provides a comprehensive understanding of the environmental footprint associated with a given packaging material, allowing industry experts to identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions.

Key Components of an LCA in Wood Packaging

  1. Raw Material Extraction: In the context of wood packaging, LCA starts with the extraction of raw materials, such as timber from sustainably managed forests. This stage considers factors like land use, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration.
  2. Material Processing: The next stage involves processing the raw timber into wood packaging materials like pallets or crates. LCA examines the energy consumption, emissions, and waste generated during this phase.
  3. Manufacturing: The manufacturing stage focuses on the production of wood packaging products, considering energy inputs, emissions, and waste associated with the production process.
  4. Distribution: LCA evaluates the transportation of wood packaging materials from the manufacturing site to the end-user, taking into account transportation modes, distances, and related environmental impacts.
  5. Use: This stage assesses the environmental performance of wood packaging materials during their intended use, such as pallet pooling or reusable packaging systems, and the potential for repair and reuse.
  6. End-of-Life Management: Finally, LCA examines the disposal, recycling, or repurposing of wood packaging materials at the end of their useful life, considering waste reduction and resource recovery opportunities.

Applying the LCA in the Wood Packaging Industry

Life Cycle Assessments are an invaluable tool for industry experts seeking to understand the environmental impact of their wood packaging solutions. Some of the key applications of an LCA in the wood packaging industry include:

  1. Comparing Materials: LCA’s can be used to compare the environmental performance of different packaging materials, such as wood, plastic, or metal, providing objective data to support material selection decisions.
  2. Identifying Improvement opportunities: By analyzing the life cycle of wood packaging materials, LCA’s can help industry experts pinpoint areas for improvement, such as reducing energy consumption during manufacturing or improving recycling rates.
  3. Communicating Sustainability: LCA results can be shared with customers, stakeholders, and regulators to demonstrate a company’s commitment to sustainability and showcase the environmental benefits of wood packaging solutions.
  4. Guiding Policy and Decision-Making: LCA findings can inform policy-making and decision-making processes at both the corporate and governmental levels, shaping the future of the wood packaging industry in a more sustainable direction.

Leveraging LCA’s for Sustainable Wood Packaging Solutions

As an industry, it is our responsibility to promote sustainability in our operations and messaging. The Life Cycle Assessment is a powerful tool that allows us to assess the environmental performance of wood packaging materials and make informed choices.

By leveraging LCA insights, we can drive continuous improvement, reduce our environmental footprint, and lead the way towards a more sustainable supply chain.

The Recyclable Wood Pallet: Reducing Environmental Impact

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In this Nature’s Packaging blog post, we review the importance of recycling and reducing the environmental impact of our actions. We’ll be discussing the benefits of wood pallets as a recyclable and biodegradable material, and how it compares to other materials like plastic and metal alternatives.

Let’s begin with the recycling of wood pallets. Wood pallets are capable of being recycled throughout their functional life as a piece of material handling equipment. If a piece of a pallet is damaged during transport, once the pallet is returned for collection the damaged piece(s) can easily be removed and replaced. The pallet can then be re-used in the supply chain for transporting goods.

At the end of their functional life, a pallet is broken down into its component wood pieces and then recycled and repurposed into other wood products. These products include everything from mulch to animal bedding, to fuel, and even in some cases furniture. These repurposed products mean that the amount of wood waste that ends up in a landfill is reduced and this conserves resources.

Another advantage of wood pallets is that they are biodegradable. This means that, over time, the wood will break down naturally in the environment. Wood does not take hundreds of years to decompose. This also reduces the environmental impact of the pallets at the end of their useful life.

Now, let’s do a quick comparison of wood pallets to plastic and metal pallet alternatives. Plastic pallets can be a useful shipping platform and are sometimes the right choice for a given supply chain operation.

However, plastic pallets are not biodegradable and can take hundreds of years to decompose. Plastic pallets also require large amounts of fossil fuels to produce. And while they can be recycled, the processes used to recycle plastic pallets also utilize fossil fuels and thus add to carbon emissions.

In some supply chains, metal pallets are a preferred choice. Very often they are found in pharmaceutical supply chains that are closed loop, which means that the pallet will stay within a facility or only be used to transport materials from one location to another within a company supply chain.

In these situations, they are strictly controlled and inventoried. They are built to be extremely durable and designed to last for a long time. This makes them quite expensive to manufacture and metal pallets are not a good solution for widespread use in a supply chain. Also, they are not biodegradable and, like plastic pallets, require large amounts of energy to produce, leading to a high carbon footprint.

In contrast, wood is a renewable resource and can be regrown and replenished. Wood pallets are also relatively inexpensive compared to plastic or metal alternatives. And, wood pallets are a recyclable and biodegradable material that reduces the environmental impact of the pallets at the end of their useful life.

Wood pallets are a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to plastic and metal pallets. By choosing wood pallets, companies can help reduce the environmental impact of their supply chain operations and contribute to making a positive choice for a more sustainable future.

The Circular Economy-New Idea, Re-Modeled

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The definition of a circular economy is straightforward but transitioning to the new model remains challenging. Consumers and business leaders have grown accustomed to a wasteful, linear product lifecycle. Manufacturers fabricate goods, ship them to retail outlets, and people buy the items they believe provide the most significant value. But what happens afterward? Most people discard old or broken products without a second thought. Yet, a circular economy breaks the cycle of wastefulness, providing an alternative to the current system and a way to fight climate change.

The Circular Economy – The New Idea

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a circular economy “keeps materials, products, and services in circulation for as long as possible.” The typical product lifecycle entails fabricating new items from raw materials, sometimes natural resources, but there is little emphasis on sustainability. If there’s a choice between saving money on production or operating with sustainability, most choose the easy route.

A circular economy takes a different perspective. There is a concerted effort to eliminate waste at a fundamental, systemic level. Products manufactured in the current linear economic structure will not be returned to the manufacturer and recycled.

In a circular economic model, they would. The manufacturer can repair, reproduce, or recycle products using re-fabricated parts, creating a return-loop that promotes and operates with less waste – and lower manufacturing costs. The most vital concept is to be as efficient as possible while maintaining sustainability, including (if possible) using renewable energy.

Circular Economy-Recovered and Recycled

A circular economy isn’t a theoretical framework because real-world examples exist. The difference is that the global economy has yet to shift to a new model. Still, businesses continue to demonstrate how to accomplish the feat and push back on climate change.

Supply Chain

Many international companies in consumer facing industries, like automotive or electronics, are implementing closed loop-reverse logistics programs to capture savings in their manufacturing processes. These businesses enabled a “reverse logistics” system in coordination with partners and suppliers. These organizations gather and reassemble disused components and re-sell them via their reverse logistics supply chain. The result is greater efficiency since reassembled parts cost significantly less than new components. Those savings get passed to consumers, and all parties’ benefit. These industries have renovated hundreds of thousands of parts and components that meet similar specifications as new components.

Wood Pallets

Companies in the wood pallet industry have adopted similar systems, where new products are recycled and re-manufactured from existing pallets. Circular economics in this sector have spawned businesses that recover wood in the form of used pallets and other wood waste and re-purpose it as viable products all the way through the end and beyond of its own product lifecycle. The recycled pallets have the same functionality despite being reused in the supply chain more than once. If waste byproducts occur, those byproducts get used in other ways, such as using leftover wood for compost, or even wood pellets. This way, every ounce of recycled wood has a purpose and reduces the number of trees required to meet demand.

Why is It Important?

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle seem aimed at a personal level of responsibility to start and that is great. However, a circular economy model offers a different path forward. It allows businesses and consumers to participate in a healthy economic system that protects the environment and fights climate change. The assumption that circular economics introduces unnecessary costs is inaccurate because real-world examples prove it’s possible. The next step is the widespread deployment of circular economic principles, and that’s where the global economy stands today. There’s a clear choice between conducting business as usual or moving on to a sustainable system.

Wood biomass

Woody Biomass: A Nature’s Packaging Study – Part 2

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***Nature’s Packaging continues this week with Woody Biomass – Part 2***

 

How Does Woody Biomass Produce Energy?

Woody biomass produces energy through several methods:

Combustion

Combustion of biomass is one of the oldest controllable energy resources. Combustion involves burning wood to produce heat.

It is a chemical reaction during which oxygen and biomass combine under high temperatures to produce water vapor, carbon dioxide, and heat.

Combustion is a widely used process to generate electricity that is an efficient, economical, and practical energy source.

Gasification

Gasification involves converting woody biomass into a fuel gas. The combustible gas can then facilitate powering engines. The process of gasification uses a low amount of oxygen and when utilized to convert solid carbonaceous materials, it can also produce hydrogen-rich gas.

Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is a promising way of generating energy from waste. During pyrolysis, wood is heated without oxygen to produce a liquid or solid fuel.

Biomass pyrolysis involves breaking down organic matter into simpler molecular chains using heat. This process produces not only energy but also fuels and other chemicals.  The fuels created using the fast pyrolysis process have the potential to help reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions by a whopping 51% to 96%.

Heating biomass breaks it down into cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose. These components can be used to produce energy through combustion or other means.

Other Products from Woody Biomass

Woody biomass is a versatile resource that can be utilized to create many different types of products, the following are just a few:

Biochar

We have covered biochar in a previous Nature’s Packaging blog post. Biochar is a form of carbon generated from biomass sources like wood chips, plant residues, and other agricultural waste products. It is created to convert biomass carbon product into a more stable form, otherwise known as carbon sequestration.

Biochar isn’t actually a single product. Instead, biochar is many different forms of black carbon that are unique in chemical and physical composition due to the original feedstock materials, creation process, cooling methods, and overall storage conditions.

Wood Vinegar

Wood vinegar is a liquid byproduct derived from the production of charcoal. It is a liquid generated from the combustion and gas of fresh wood burning in airless conditions. When the gas is cooled, it condenses and the remaining liquid is a vinegar product. Raw wood vinegar contains more than 200 chemicals

Wood vinegar is used to improve soil quality, eliminate pests, and control plant growth. It accelerates the growth of roots, stems, tubers, leaves, flowers, and fruit, but can be very toxic to plants if too much is used in application. Wood vinegar is safe for living matter and organisms in the food chain, especially to insects that help pollinate plants.

Wood-based Polymers and Composites

Recycling wood from end of life utility in packaging, construction debris, and demolition waste then combining those materials with plastics to form wood-polymer composites (WPC) creates strong wood-based products that have very wide usage capabilities. These recycled composites have very low environmental impact in terms of global warming potential (GWP), and greenhouse potential. The versatility of wood-polymer composites allow products to be created that have pre-determined strength values that correspond to their many applications.

Chemical Source Materials

In the past, it was something of a challenge turning woody biomass into fuels or other primary products. The lignin present was difficult to extract. Now through thermodynamic breakdown and chemical science, the lignin can be extracted and is quite good as a bio-polymer additive to adhesive formulas and also can be further processed into binding agents, dispersing agents, and emulsion stabilizers. Meaning that its versatility in multi-functional chemical applications makes it an excellent application in chemical manufacturing processes.

Woody Biomass in the Future

Technological advancements in the forest product sciences are finding more functional uses for woody biomass every year. Starting as a sustainable resource and source of energy that can be replenished over time, it is an environmentally friendly catalyst that is now finding new applications in materials science.

As the need for energy sources grows, woody biomass is complementary to other natural energy sources like wind and solar and ensures energy security for manufacturing and production-based industries. Thus, commercial companies are exploring many different types of bioenergy solutions.

Developing the technology to enhance the economic viability of woody biomass ensures a sustainable future for energy production. Its renewable, carbon-neutral, and lower environmental impact is an ideal attribute for future needs.

 

pile of pallet wood scraps ready for recycling

How Wood Pallets are Recycled into New Products

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Wood pallets are highly sustainable, in part because of their high rate of recyclability. According to the latest research available, 508 million wood pallets are produced annually in the U.S. each year, while only 25 million of them end up in landfills, down from 178.5 million in 1998.

Old wood pallet material is utilized in many creative ways. With a laudable recycling rate of 95%, most end-of-life wood pallets are processed to create other products. Recovered lumber is used for pallet repair or re-manufactured pallet components as well as other purposes, while unusable lumber is reduced to fiber for many applications.

This approach improves the economics as well as the sustainability of pallet recycling. Recovered wood is much less expensive than virgin material, and as such, it provides cost advantages versus new components both for repair as well as pallet re-manufacturing.

There are also sustainability advantages associated with this practice, known as “cascading use”. Cascading use refers to the method of recovering material for the next most valuable alternative – such as pallet boards, and eventually, fiber. This approach reduces the carbon footprint impact at each stage of use thanks to recycled material availability, which is much less carbon-intensive to produce than virgin fiber alternatives.

Here is what happens to end-of-life pallets:

Recovered pallet repair components

When pallets are too severely damaged to repair, or they are not a popular size, pallet recyclers typically dismantle them using a bandsaw dismantler. Broken components are sent to the grinder, while pallet recyclers use intact pallet boards or stringers to repair other pallets.

Recovered components used to build combo or re-manufactured pallets

Recyclers also use intact recovered pallet components in the assembly of combo or re-manufactured pallets. The variability of sizing in recovered pallet boards and stringers makes them more challenging to work with than new material. Increasingly, the pallet industry is turning to automated nailing systems as well as lumber sizing and sorting machinery to enhance the efficiency of re-manufacturing.

Recovered solid wood used for upcycling crafts or architectural projects

Old pallets have become extremely popular for upcycling arts and crafts projects, as well as pallet art. Architectural trends such as industrial chic embrace the look of weathered pallet wood material. As a result, some pallet recyclers are also now selling recovered pallet lumber to home builders for installations such as feature walls.

Fiber used to manufacture new products

Where nearby manufacturing plants exist, fiber can be utilized in wood composite products such as particleboard and fiberboard sheets for construction, and as filler in absorbent socks for spill containment. Wood fiber is also used in material handling products such as wood composite pallet blocks, molded wood plugs and pallets.

Fiber for mulch, bedding, and soil amendments

Popular applications for recycled fiber including colored landscaping mulch as well as animal bedding and soil amendments. A soil amendment is when wood fiber is added to soil to improve its water retention, permeability, water infiltration, drainage, and aeration. The goal of a soil amendment is to create a better environment for roots to take hold within the soil.

Fiber for biomass

Wood fiber is used as boiler fuel as well as in other applications to generate energy. Aside from bulk fiber, wood fiber can also be compressed or densified into more compact products such as pellets, cubes, briquettes or fire-logs. Densified products have a higher value and are more economical to ship a greater distance.

Fiber for emerging applications

Ongoing research continues to uncover new applications for wood fiber, while other markets are anticipated to grow. Fiber applications expected to play a larger role in the future include biochar, a soil amendment utilizing charcoal, and cross-laminated timber (CLT). CLT involves the usage of smaller pieces of wood to manufacture larger panels.

The discussion above illustrates how pallet recycling follows the cascading use principle, utilizing material for its next most valuable use, whether as pallet boards, feature walls, or several fiber products. Such an approach optimizes the economic value of wood while enhancing its sustainability story.

 

recycled pallet stacks

The Sustainable Supply Chain – Forest Products (Part 1)

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As supply chain decision-makers urgently turn their focus toward sustainability, they are looking at opportunities to reduce CO2 emissions through initiatives such as renewable energy, transportation optimization, IoT (internet of Things), and more. But have you considered how wood pallet and packaging recycling can make a difference for your sustainability aspirations?

The funny thing about pallets, like other things in life, is that if you aren’t aware of them, they are easy to overlook. In the United States, there are 2 billion of them hiding in plain sight. If we assume 50 lbs of wood per pallet, that amount translates into 100 billion pounds of wood, which sequesters roughly 45 to 50 billion pounds of carbon. We will return to the CO2 reduction benefits of wood pallet and container reuse and recycling in the next post.

Once people become aware of pallets, however, some folks are surprised to realize that pallets are on the job almost everywhere in supply chains from inbound material at the production plant to supporting unit loads arriving at the retail outlet.

As the National Wood Pallet & Container Association states, “Pallets Move the World®”. According to one report, around 94% of industrial and consumer goods in the United States travel on a pallet at some point in their supply chain journey from producer to distribution location to end customer.

Wood Packaging in the Supply Chain

The MH1-2016 standard defines the pallet as a “portable, horizontal, rigid, composite platform used as (a) base for assembling, storing, stacking, handling and transporting goods as a unit load; often equipped with (a) superstructure.” When products are stacked on top of a pallet, the combination of goods and a pallet is known as a unit load.

The mechanized handling of materials in unit loads offers many benefits versus the manual handling of goods. This practice helps protect sensitive products from damage associated with “touch labor” or manually repositioning each box, for example. The pallet also protects products during interaction with material handling equipment such as forklifts, conveyors, pallet storage racks and automated storage and retrieval systems. Palletized unit loads can be stored more efficiently than unpalletized goods in most storage systems or through the stacking of unit loads. Palletization also dramatically increases the speed of loading and unloading versus floor loaded or unpalletized goods, and through the avoidance of manual handling, improves workplace safety.

Pallets or wood packaging may be used for a single supply chain link or to move goods through multiple links. For example, plywood orchard bins move fresh tree fruit to the packing shed where it is packed and palletized onto a wood pallet. The bin is reused in the orchard, while the pallet is employed for delivery of packaged fruit to a grocery distribution center, and then perhaps as the base for a full unit load or a mixed pallet load assembled for delivery to the retail outlet. In a mainframe computer supply chain, on the other hand, components may arrive palletized, with the sensitive finished product then shipped in a custom wood container to the customer location.

In part 2, we will take a look at the life cycle and recycling of wood packaging and the positive impact that recycling has on carbon emissions.

Wood Pallet Businesses Recycle Burnt Trees from Forest Fires

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Wood Pallet Businesses Recycle Burnt Trees from Forest Fires

Forest fires are one of the most destructive natural disasters that can possibly hit dense forest areas.  It is hard to contemplate why anyone would ever consider forest fires to be ‘needed’ when so many trees, animals, plants and resources get destroyed during these fires. However, some of the resources, especially burnt trees, can often be harvested after a forest fire and reused on wood pallets.

Image supplied by Pixabay distributed under CC-BY 2.0 License

Forest fires cleanse the environment

Fires are important for regeneration and renewal of forests across the globe.  These fires clean out flammable litter like leaves, logs and more on the forest floors.  By cleaning out all this litter the forest stays healthy since many pests and diseases are destroyed in the process.  The cleaning of forest floors also prevents extensive and extreme fires from occurring because fires are much easier to keep under control or extinguish when there is less litter around. The fires also reduce density and open the canopy which allows the sunlight to reach other plants and boosts new and fresh growth.

Recycling Burnt Trees into Pallets

In some cases, tree loggers can harvest burnt trees after a forest fire so the logs can be salvaged. In many instances, once a log is processed into lumber it’s impossible to tell that the log came from a firery forest. These products pass grade inspections and are used home building in furniture construction. In other cases, the log will portray visible defects in which case an ideal application for these discolored products is wood pallets and crates. The discoloration often found from these logs is usually not a problem for wood pallet recyclers. In fact, for many buyers, it’s often a good deal because the main defect is discoloration you can often get a better overall quality product!

Boosts growth spurts

Even when forest fires burn through the forest floor, trees are still valuable, renewable resources. Burnt sites will regenerate and regrow plant life much quicker than normal plant growth.  This is because the fire itself provides plant life with valuable nutrients and minerals.  The forest also catches up to coniferous forests quickly because young trees and plants have much more room to prosper and grow thanks to reduced density and a boost in sunlight on the forest floor.

References

The Recycling Symbol

Wood Pallets Are Diverted from Landfills

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Wood Pallets Are Diverted from Landfills

In the year 2014, approximately 258 million tons of waste materials were generated by Americans and eventually reached various landfills stationed around the country. A report issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broke down the components of this enormous tonnage as follows: 28.2% was comprised of food waste and yard trimmings, 26% was attributable to paper and cardboard products, plastics accounted for 13% of the total, rubber and textiles contributed 9%, metals were 9%, wood products made up 6%, and glass accounted for 4% of the total.

Photograph by Wikimedia; distributed under a CC-BY 2.0 license

More good news about landfills

Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble, a globally known corporate giant, has pledged to keep plastics entirely out of landfills by the year 2020. Plastics aren’t the only by-product of manufacturing that the company intends to shield from landfills though. It has announced that other by-products will be recycled right at the manufacturing locations as well, so there is no need for shipping them to landfills.
Using a process that shreds previously unwanted materials and compressing them into sheets, they can be used as building materials, says the company. The stated landfill avoidance goal of the company is to achieve zero percent waste materials that need to be shipped off-site, and instead recycle them all into materials usable for other industries and applications.

Wood pallet landfill avoidance

One of the biggest landfill avoidance undertakings that currently goes on, and is expected to increase, is that of recycling wooden pallets. According to the research published in “Pallet Reuse and Recycling Saves High Value Material from Landfills”, in 1992, only about 50 million wood pallets were recovered from landfills and recycled for further usage. Three years later, that figure jumped to 150 million pallets, and by 2006, the number had increased to over 350 million. By recycling so many pallets, it has been calculated that 5.7 billion board feet of lumber were saved in this country, by not having to produce new pallets from freshly cut lumber.
Wood pallet recyclability has been steadily increasing because lumber is a valuable and limited resource. To discard it in a landfill would truly be a waste. New studies are currently being conducted to determine how many wood pallets are diverted from landfills.

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