Why Reuse and Recycle Old Wood?
If you reuse wood, you can limit the need for heavy reliance on our forests for fresh building materials. If you recycle wood, you are, in effect, reducing environmental damage.
Look at it this way: Reusing and recycling are a means of showing respect for the trees from which they were sourced.
What Type of Wood Can Be Recycled?
The key to effectively recycle wood products is that you need to be able to differentiate what can and cannot be recycled. Recyclable wood is divided into two classes: Class A and Class B.
Class A
Untreated timber commonly used in furniture and framing for houses and are considered high quality
Class B
Untreated, unpainted, and unstained engineered wood products like plywood, laminated veneer lumber (LVL), glued laminated lumber, particleboard and medium density fibreboard (MDF), finger-jointed timber.
The Wood Recycling Process
Waste wood and timber are usually divided at recycling plants for processing. Recycling plants make use of a shredder and a mill to turn wood waste into compost or mulches, to be used for soil improvement, landscaping, erosion control, and animal bedding.
Another use for recycled wood waste is to create biomass and biofuel, both of which provide clean and renewable energy for large national and international companies. As an energy source, it is renewable and reduces carbon emission.
