Waste wood & sustainability

We have seen major changes in frequency and severity of draughts, wildfires, and flooding over the past few years, which all impacts access to virgin wood as a raw material.

Our linear economy with an overconsumption of raw materials has put an unbearable pressure on our ecosystems. As we are trying to reverse this cycle there will be an increase demand for wood-based products. If we choose to meet this increased demand by only using virgin wood, we will continue to increase depletion of natural resources. Thus, also amplifying the increase in natural disasters that reduces availability of virgin wood.

The only way out of this negative cycle is to stop incinerating reclaimed wood and convert majority of it into new raw materials. Hence, we need to increase knowledge on how we can:

1. increase percentage of wood products that can be recycled
2. increase number of iterations wood products can be recycled

Eco Materials work with partners to develop technology and processes allowing us to use recycled wood for new products. We are also doing research on how we can track the lifespan of reclaimed wood through multiple products.

Eco Materials circularity model for wood

Eco Materials provides people, processes, and technology to support implementation of a circular economy and sustainability in the entire lifecycle of wood-based products.

Our goal is to increase the lifespan of wood after it is harvested through utilizing new technology and knowledge. Our business is to transform reclaimed wood into a new raw material, and beneath is our business model in a wholistic view.

Waste wood’s impact on CO2 emissions

Unfortunately, politicians have deemed incinerating wood to be a “green” way of creating energy. Reality is that creating 1kw energy by burning wood creates more pollution than creating 1kw energy with natural gas.

As trees grow, they capture carbon. Although it varies slightly by species, wood is roughly 50% carbon by dry weight. European countries collect approximately 67-million-ton waste wood annually, and 90% of it is incinerated.

The CO2 effect of reclaimed wood incineration is:

• take away 20% moist and we have approximately dry weight of wood, where about 50% of the weight is carbon.
  • 67 000 000-ton – 20% moist = 53 600 000ton / 2 = 26 800 000 ton of carbon

about 90 percent of this wood is incinerated

• 26 800 000 ton of carbon x 90% = 24 120 000 ton of carbon released (a small amount is stored in ashes)
  • 24 120 000-ton carbon x 3.67 = 88 520 400 ton of CO2 released annually

For each ton of waste wood transformed into a new raw material for wood products:

• 1000kg – 20% = 800kg /2 = 400kg carbon x3,67 = 1468kg CO2 emission reduced

Our common goal must be to create green renewable energy from wind, hydro, solar or other processes that do not release carbon. Very few energy sources pollute as much as wood heating in private homes. We must stop treating wood incineration as a green alternative.

A new value model for waste wood

Both waste management companies and manufacturers using woodchips for products seem to follow the model underneath (figure 1.), and up until very recently this has been the best (only) way to capitalize on waste wood. However, we believe (hope) that there will be a major shift going forward where all companies are measured on circularity and sustainability from regulators and public opinion.

Figure 1.
This model balances the value of waste wood as a raw material and as an energy source. The issue is that waste wood is a sought energy commodity for many customers wanting to offset CO2 cost, not just manufacturers using woodchips for products. Thus, other value chains like steel producers and energy companies drive prices on waste wood upwards, reducing material recovery and forcing increased deforestation.

In the figure below (figure 2.) we have described a model where increased material recovery and new products from recycled materials pays off in a market valuing circularity and sustainability. Those who can document, with data, how their utilization of waste wood positively impacts forestry, reduced transportation and energy consumption, land use, etc. will have a competitive advantage when collecting waste wood and selling their products.

Figure 2.
We are pushing for regulations where those who produce and promote products with high levels of recycled materials get prioritized access to waste wood for material recovery. Moving forward we expect to see an increase in regulations favoring material recovery over energy.

Eco Materials processes and technology enables a higher material recovery rate then we have seen in the market so far, supporting increased material recovery of waste wood.