CWC Fact Sheet

Construction, Demolition & Landclearing (CDL) Market Assessment: WOOD WASTE

The Clean Washington Center (CWC), as part of an effort to develop markets for recycled construction, demolition and land clearing (CDL) materials, contracted with Gershmann, Brickner and Bratton (GBB) of Falls Church, Virginia, to conduct a comprehensiv e assessment of markets for recycled CDL materials in Washington State.

Wood waste, or "secondary wood fiber," as is perhaps more appropriate given the development of value added markets in the northwest, is a major component of CDL. There are a variety of end use applications for wood waste, ranging from biofuel use on the low end to pulp and paper applications on the high end.

Available Supply
Reported quantities of wood waste disposed at landfills throughout the state and information from responding recyclers indicates a minimum of 1.25 million tons of wood waste generated annually. Research suggests that many landfill numbers may not fully r eflect quantities of wood waste received, and that some streams of wood waste such as land clearing stumps burned on site may not be counted through either channel. This indicates a larger actual supply of secondary wood fiber available for recycling. I ndustrial residuals are handled by some recyclers as well.

Pulp & Paper
The GBB study identifies pulp and paper applications as representing the greatest potential for growth in utilization of secondary wood fiber. Strong prices paid by the industry for typical raw material and the declining supply of virgin pulp chips avail able, make CDL wood waste sources increasingly attractive as the 18 pulp and paper mills in state struggle to meet their fiber needs. This use requires very clean material, which means recyclers must be able to process for a number of contaminants, depen ding on feed material. Secondary wood fiber can provide the longer and stronger fibers needed as mills increase their utilization of shorter waste paper fibers.

Reconstituted Panelboard
Reconstituted panelboard products also offer potential for CDL wood waste processors. The current infrastructure for utilizing material in this application is located in Oregon, with only one small reconstituted panelboard mill in state. The possibility of reconstituted panelboard manufacturing entering the scene in Washington will depend on the ability of these industries to acquire necessary feedstocks compatible to their process lines. This market generally pays less for feedstock material than pulp and paper producers, but represents a potential fiber application for waste wood materials.

The ability of State CDL wood waste processors to access both of these markets depends on their ability to supply "clean" material which meets industry specs.

Other Applications
In addition to the high and low value applications for recycled wood waste, a number of mid-value applications offer potential. Among these are fiber-composite applications, animal bedding, interim road beds, mulch and soil amendments, bulking agents for compost production, chemical derivatives, and processed fuel pellets or blends. Each of these end uses may have value in particular situations. For instance, interim road bed applications may make sense for the utilization of rural land clearing or for est residual wood waste.

Declining Biofuel Demand
Industrial conversion to lower cost fuels such as natural gas and the increased stringency of air quality control requirements will continue to erode demand for hog fuel (biofuel) material. As this market declines, State processors will have to find other markets, such as compost, for low grade waste wood chips. The alternative for processors is to make the necessary capital investment to bring chips up to the specifications for higher value markets.