Shropshire recycling firm's wood waste warning
A local recycling company is warning that swift action needs to be taken to deal with the large stockpiles of waste wood currently being generated by industry, UK-wide, following the closure earlier last month of the country’s largest waste wood recycler.
Telford-based Pink Group Waste and Recycling has raised its concerns regarding the capabilities of the UK’s wood recycling infrastructure in light of the announcement that Knowsley-based Sonae UK would close with immediate effect.
Prior to its closure on Friday 14th September, Sonae UK processed over 400,000 tonnes of waste wood every year at its recycled chipboard factory, almost an eighth of all waste wood generated per annum from construction and demolition, commercial and industrial and household sources combined.
Will Wellings, Managing Director of Pink Group, which operates a dedicated waste wood recycling service, explained: “We have worked closely with businesses throughout Shropshire over a number of years to increase levels of wood recycling. Beyond the obvious environmental advantages, companies have also enjoyed the financial benefits, with recycling solutions often costing around half that of landfill.
“The reduction of 400,000 tonnes per annum of waste wood recycling capacity is therefore a double blow for Shropshire businesses that may now see reduced recycling levels and increased costs. Whilst there are alternatives to chipboard manufacturing for waste wood, including animal bedding and, more recently, the growing biomass market, these are often regionalised and can require greater processing of the waste wood than more traditional chipboard markets.”
While Will welcomes the government’s offer of incentives to encourage the production of electricity from renewable resources, such as its support for the creation of additional biomass plants across the UK, he warns that in order for such initiatives to succeed in the long-term, the country’s infrastructure needs to be able to cope with the additional demand.
“Stockpiles of waste wood are growing across the UK due to a number of factors, including the euro exchange rate which has resulted in the slowdown of export activity over the last few years. This has been exacerbated by a fall in demand for recovered wood by Sweden, one of the UK’s primary export markets for waste wood for use in biomass heaters, due to milder than expected winters in recent times,” Will concluded.
