timber recycling opportunities in the uk

Timber Recycling Opportunities in the UK

A summary of presentations given at four workshops in

Cambridge, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol

Fauna & Flora International Great Eastern House Tenison Road Cambridge CB1 2TT UK Tel: +44 (0)1223 571000 Fax: +44 (0)1223 461481 E-mail: [email protected] Websites: www.fauna-flora.org www.globaltrees.org Edited by Simon Mickleburgh and Georgina Magin Published by Fauna & Flora International, 2003. Citation: Mickleburgh, S.P. and Magin, G. (eds) 2003. Timber Recycling Opportunities in the UK. A summary of presentations given at four workshops in Cambridge, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol Fauna & Flora International, Cambridge, UK. S

ponsored by Fenside Waste Management, through the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme

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mailto:[email protected]

http://www.fauna-flora.org

http://www.globaltrees.org

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ACRONYMS BAT Best available technology BRE Building Research Establishment BMW Biodegradable municipal waste CA sites Civic Amenity sites C&D Construction and demolition CDW Collected domestic waste Defra Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DTI Department of Trade and Industry FFI Fauna & Flora International FSC Forest Stewardship Council HWRC Household Waste Recycling Centre MDF Medium density fibreboard OSB Oriented strand board PRN Packaging Recovery Note RWF Recycled wood fibre WET Bill Waste and Emissions Trading Bill WRAP Waste and Resources Action Programme

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Fauna & Flora International would like to thank all of those who made presentations at the workshops, for helping make the events successful. Grateful thanks also to the workshop sponsors, Fenside Waste Management. The authors would also like to acknowledge the assistance of Hanna Gray, who helped with the organization of the workshops and the preparation of this document, Nell Hamilton who helped with the running of the workshop in Manchester and Camila Iturra, Tim Cumine and Paul Mathew who assisted with the Cambridge meeting.

CONTENTS

ACRONYMS................................................................................................................................................. i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................................................................... iii

BACKGROUND ...........................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................................................3 Introduction to wood waste in the UK ........................................................................................................3

Georgina Magin, Wood Waste Project Manager, Fauna & Flora International 3 The legislative and policy framework for waste management in the UK...................................................9

Brigid Preston, Waste Strategy Division, Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) 9 Waste and Resources Action Programme’s wood recycling programme .................................................13

Tom Fourcade & Liz Morrish, Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) The waste wood resource in the Manchester and Merseyside areas .........................................................15

Gareth Mayhead, The Mersey Forest Andy Urquhart, The Urban Timber Initiative

USES FOR WOOD WASTE.......................................................................................................................19 Using wood waste in chipboard manufacture (1)......................................................................................19

Richard Coulson, Kronospan Ltd. Using wood waste in chipboard manufacture (2)......................................................................................21

Dr Harry Earl, Technical Manager, and Bernadette Wilson, Quality/Environmental Supervisor, Sonae UK Ltd. Making mulch from wood waste (1) .........................................................................................................25

John Jardine, County Mulch Ltd. Making mulch from wood waste (2) .........................................................................................................26

Andrew Corry, General Manager, Tracey Timber Recycling Making mulch from wood waste (3) .........................................................................................................27

Rod Gifford, Managing Director, West Bromwich Pallets Ltd Using recycled timber on a building project .............................................................................................29

Guy Jackson, Senior Project Manager, Taylor Woodrow Construction Making items from recycled timber ..........................................................................................................31

Cathi Lillis-James, Buried Treasure Ltd. Knotwood – a new use for waste timber ...................................................................................................33

Ches Orme, Chairman, Plastics Reclamation Ltd.

COLLECTING AND PROCESSING WASTE TIMBER ..........................................................................35 Recycling timber on a commercial scale (1) .............................................................................................35

Stuart Howarth, Business Development Manager, Hadfield Wood Recyclers Recycling timber on a commercial scale (2) .............................................................................................36

Martin Bond, Hambrook Pallets Ltd. Timber recycling at a small to medium-sized company............................................................................37

Barrie Marshall, Huntingdon Recycling Recycling timber from the municipal waste stream (1) ............................................................................39

Mark Shelton, Cambridgeshire County Council Recycling timber from the municipal waste stream (2) ............................................................................41

Rob Chaddock, Commercial Manager (Recycling and Composting), Waste Recycling Group

Recycling timber from the municipal waste stream (3) ............................................................................43 Andrew Bird, Senior Engineer Waste Management, Stoke-on-Trent City Council

The Brighton and Hove Timber Recycling Project...................................................................................45 Richard Mehmed, Brighton and Hove Timber Recycling Project

Labelling recycled timber products...........................................................................................................47 Nick Cliffe, Marketing Communications Manager, Forest Stewardship Council UK

Developing markets for recycled wood products......................................................................................49 Toby Beadle, Urban Harvest Ltd.

KEY ISSUES...............................................................................................................................................53

DELEGATES LIST.....................................................................................................................................55

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BACKGROUND This publication is the output from a series of workshops organized by Fauna & Flora International as part of a project to promote the minimization, reuse and recycling of timber waste. Fauna & Flora International (FFI) is the world's oldest international conservation organisation, with headquarters in the UK. It is a non-governmental organisation and a registered charity and acts to conserve threatened species and ecosystems worldwide, choosing solutions that are sustainable, are based on sound science and take account of human needs. FFI has projects in over 60 countries worldwide and works with local partners. More information on FFI is on the website www.fauna-flora.org One of FFI’s main programmes is the Global Trees Campaign, which aims to take action for the 8,000 tree species worldwide that are threatened with extinction, including 1,000 species threatened by trade. The Global Trees Campaign has its own website www.globaltrees.org. As part of the Global Trees Campaign, FFI is working to promote sustainable timber use in the UK, particularly looking at the minimization, reuse and recycling of timber waste. This work is funded by Fenside Waste Management through the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme. Past activities have included publication of a background report, An Introduction to Wood Waste in the UK, production of a revised version of the Good Wood Guide (in collaboration with Friends of the Earth), provision of a Timber Recycling Information Service, including web-based lists of timber recycling facilities, and media and public awareness work. The workshops in Cambridge, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol aimed to bring together wood waste producers, collectors, processors and users to share information and experience and promote best practice. The focus of the workshops was on practical solutions for dealing with timber waste and on identifying opportunities and constraints to timber reuse and recycling. The events proved very popular. Speakers presented a range of aspects of timber recycling and there were many interesting questions and comments from the floor. This document is intended to provide a written record of the workshops and to be a useful reference source for those interested in wood reuse or recycling. Other current FFI initiatives on wood waste include production of best practice guidelines on waste minimization for the furniture industry, research on timber use and waste in the musical instrument industry, development and promotion of a label for recycled wood products (in collaboration with the Forest Stewardship Council UK) and production of a directory of reclaimed furniture manufacturers and retailers. Comments, contributions or questions on this publication or any aspect of FFI’s wood waste project are always welcome – please address them to Georgina Magin at the FFI address.

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http://www.fauna-flora.org/

http://www.fauna-flora.org/

http://www.globaltrees.org/

INTRODUCTION

Introduction to wood waste in the UK Georgina Magin, Wood Waste Project Manager, Fauna & Flora International, Great Eastern House, Tenison Road, Cambridge CB1 2TT. The world’s forests are under great pressure – forest loss is continuing at 13.7 million ha a year. Coupled with this, over 8,000 of the world’s tree species are classified as globally threatened with extinction. Logging for the timber trade has been identified as a major factor in the loss of the world’s forests and trade also threatens over 1,000 tree species. Demand for industrial wood, not counting that used for fuelwood or subsistence uses, was predicted to increase by 25% from 1996 to 2010, putting further pressure on the world’s forests and trees in the future. The sustainable management of forests for timber production has received considerable attention over the past decades. The issue of how timber is used once it has been extracted has been less in the spotlight but it is also a vital element of sustainable timber use. Making efficient use of the material and minimising waste will help manage the growing demand for wood and the consequent pressure on the world’s forest resources. It is in this context that Fauna & Flora International (FFI) has been working on wood waste. There are also important issues around waste disposal, i.e. the need to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. This applies especially to biodegradable materials such as timber, which as they rot give off methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to global climate change. This paper will give an overview of where wood waste is generated, what currently happens to it and the opportunities and constraints for better management of the issue. There is a lack of reliable, standardized data on wood waste generated, much of the available information being anecdotal and in non-standard units (e.g. bags, bins or skips). Estimates in this paper have used what information is available but should only be regarded as indicative. It should also be noted that this work concentrates on processed timber waste rather than green wood. Generation of wood waste Waste is generated at all stages in the processing and use of timber. Harvesting Waste is recognized as an issue at harvesting, especially in tropical forests where waste levels may be greater than in temperate forests and the timber of higher value. Waste is generated through both the damage to surrounding trees during harvesting and extraction and the inefficient utilization of the tree that is cut. One estimate from the tropics puts extracted logs at 54% of the wood over 20 cm diameter. Primary processing – sawmill Typically, 40–50% ‘waste’ is generated at sawmills, the average in the UK being 44%. In other countries waste levels may be up to 70%. In the UK and the rest of the industrialized world sawmill wastes or residues are regarded as co-products and are generally well utilized as raw materials for the panel board and paper industries. In less industrialized countries the residues are less well utilized. While offcuts may be used for furniture components, for example, there is often no use for sawdust, which can be up to 14% of the log input. Use of sawn timber The waste generated depends on the use to which the timber is put. The construction industry is the largest user of sawn timber in the UK, accounting for approximately 39% of the total consumed. The Building Research Establishment (BRE) has a project looking at wood waste in the construction

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industry. It is estimated that more than a quarter of waste from construction sites is timber and that there is approximately 8-10 million tonnes of timber waste a year from construction and demolition sites. Secondary processing A lot of timber undergoes secondary processing into a finished product and further waste occurs at this stage. In the manufacture of furniture, for example, up to 40–50% of the sawn timber is typically wasted where hardwoods are used, approximately 30% with softwoods and 10–15% with panel products. The manufacture of joinery products such as windows and doors generates similar levels of waste. The Furniture Industry Environment Trust published a research report in summer 2002 on waste in the furniture industry and estimated that waste amounted to 186,000 tonnes of solid timber and 209,000 tonnes of board materials per year. The British Furniture Manufacturers are currently working on a project for Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) on the recycling of timber waste in the furniture industry and how it can be improved. Disposal after use Disposal of timber after use is another major source of waste. A considerable amount of timber waste is generated by the demolition of old buildings. It is estimated that in the UK 1.5 million tonnes of reclaimable timber is produced by demolition every year, of which approximately 0.75 million tonnes is currently reclaimed and 0.75 million tonnes is disposed of, mostly to landfill or by being burnt. This is equivalent to the disposal of 3,000 tonnes of timber every working day. An estimated 10% of this timber is tropical hardwood and a lot of it is high quality, coming from old, slow-growing forests. Packaging, such as wooden pallets, crates and drums, is another large source of post-use timber. Approximately 13% of packaging waste is timber, amounting to an estimated 1.3 million tonnes a year in the UK. Households are another source of waste timber, including items such as unwanted furniture (often useable), DIY offcuts, old doors, windows and floorboards. Most of this material is taken to civic amenity waste sites where timber is estimated to make up 7–10% of the material deposited. Various estimates put the total amount of timber disposed of at civic amenity sites at between 420,000 and 672,000 tonnes a year. Potential for wood waste What can be done with all this wood waste? This presentation looks at timber in the UK, not including harvesting wastes or sawmill residues, the latter generally being already well used. Reduce The first priority must be reducing waste at source. A whole host of issues are important here, of which the following are just a few.

Design Efficient design of a product or building can reduce the wood used and wasted. A report by Envirowise on waste minimization within the furniture industry gave an example of Layezee Beds who redesigned their divans and reduced their raw material input by 3%.

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Specification Accurate specification of the timber required for a job can significantly reduce waste. The dimensions in which timber is available can vary, so considerable effort may be required to source timber of the required size.

Collaboration On jobs such as construction projects, where several agents are involved, collaboration at an early stage between the developer, architect, engineer, and builder can help maximize the opportunities for material efficiency.

Durability Repair and replacement of deteriorated wood accounts for a significant amount of use of new wood, so making things to last avoids waste.

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Storage Keeping and transporting timber carefully to avoid accidental damage or deterioration due to exposure to weather is important. Surplus timber from one job can be stored for use on a subsequent project.

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Use of composite and engineered products Using products such as panels or structural timber composites such as Glulam and parallel-strand lumber makes efficient use of wood since they can be made from small-dimension timber, thinnings and, in the case of panel products, recycled wood. However, from an environmental point of view there are other issues to do with the use of these products that should be considered. For example, the energy used in their production and the use of glues and resins in their manufacture. No analysis of the overall environmental impact of these materials can be found.

Reuse Reusing timber is the next priority. Reuse is defined as the use of timber in its current form, as distinct from recycling that involves significant reprocessing of the material. The following are examples of ways in which timber is currently reused.

There is a significant trade in reclaimed timber, involving items such as floorboards, beams, doors and fireplaces. There are over 2,500 businesses in the UK dealing in reclaimed building materials and timber, with a total turnover, for all materials, of £450 million a year. Timber is a significant component of this trade although the total value of reclaimed timber sales is not known. Ornamental timber, such as fire surrounds, panelling, and pub interiors, alone accounts for £36 million a year.

Furniture reuse is also common and there is a network of reuse projects around the country taking unwanted furniture and passing it on to disadvantaged or low-income families. These projects are coordinated by an organisation called SOFA.

Wooden pallets are widely reused, a pallet being used on average nine times. Leasing pools help the efficient use of pallets and there are also companies that repair damaged pallets thus prolonging their life.

Reusable lengths of timber from a range of sources can be sold at scrap yards.

New items such as furniture and garden structures are manufactured from reclaimed wood. For example, reclaimed pine furniture, often made from old floorboards, is available in many retail outlets. A limited number of small businesses or community projects make garden furniture and accessories from old pallets or scrap timber.

Some schools and community groups use scrap wood for woodwork classes. Scrap stores that sell materials for youth groups sometimes have wood offcuts in stock. Where possible, the DIY chain B&Q donates reusable wood offcuts to local groups, timber that is not reusable being returned in the empty delivery lorries for recycling at their central depot.

Recycling Timber is, in principle, an ideal material for recycling since it is relatively easy to sort and does not require complicated reprocessing as is the case with plastic, glass and even paper. The most common use for recycled timber is as a raw material for chipboard manufacture. In 2001, the chipboard industry used approximately 675,000 tonnes of recycled timber. Chipboard and related panel products are progressively replacing solid timber in a number of applications, making a potentially useful contribution to efficient use of timber. However, panel products themselves currently cannot be recycled because of the resins they contain so it is an ‘end of the road’ option.

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Horticultural mulch can also be made from recycled wood. Animal bedding is another option and a product called Easibed made by Hadfields Wood Recyclers in Manchester recently won the Best Reprocessing Initiative category in the National Recycling Awards. Surfacing for landfill cover and gallops, compost and fuel are other options for wood waste. Many would not regard burning waste for energy as true recycling and there is some concern that the drive to increase the use of biofuels to meet the government’s fossil fuel targets will reduce investment in recycling. There are also novel products that can be made from wood waste that may become more common in the future and I noticed that a wood plastic composite that has started to be made in the UK won the Best Recycled Product category in the National Recycling Awards in 2002. Facilities for timber reuse and recycling There are a growing number of specialist wood-recycling companies most of whom chip waste timber for use in the chipboard industry. In summer 2000, a survey of the 12 largest national waste-management companies (according to a list provided by WasteWatch) found that seven were doing some timber recycling on at least one site and a further two were planning to start soon. The inclusion of wood in the Packaging Directive (see below) has increased the demand for wood recycling services and the industry is responding accordingly. An increasing number of Local Authorities are providing facilities for households to recycle timber. In 2000, a survey of Local Authorities in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland revealed that 36 out of the 109 that replied were doing some timber recovery. When FFI repeated the survey in summer 2002 it found that 75 out of the 143 authorities that replied were now collecting timber. The most common use for this recovered wood was in the chipboard industry although informal reuse and composting were also common. The information on timber recycling by Local Authorities, together with the location of private sector companies offering timber recycling for the industrial sector, is plotted on a map of the UK on FFI’s Global Trees Campaign website www.globaltrees.org. The lists of facilities are by no means comprehensive and we would be very grateful to hear of corrections or additions to the information. Opportunities and drivers for wood reuse and recycling There are a number of positive drivers and opportunities that should encourage and promote better practice with respect to timber waste in the future.

The Landfill Tax is payable per tonne of material sent to landfill. Biodegradable materials such as timber are charged at a premium rate that is increasing each year. Whilst there is some controversy about its effect, most commentators believe it has been a significant driver in encouraging waste reduction and recycling.

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The Landfill Directive is a EU Directive aimed at reducing the amount of biodegradable municipal (household) waste sent to landfill. Ambitious targets are in place for Local Authorities in order to meet the Directive. Local Authorities are therefore becoming increasingly interested in how to divert wood waste at civic amenity sites from landfill, as witnessed by the results of our Local Authority surveys mentioned earlier.

The Packaging Directive is another EU Directive that addresses packaging waste. Although not initially covered, wood packaging was included in the Directive in January 2000, spawning increased interest in timber recycling in the industrial and trade sectors. There are various more general initiatives for sustainable development that address waste issues. The Government’s initiative A Better Quality of Life – a strategy for sustainable development in the UK includes as one of the indicators of sustainability the amount of construction waste going to landfill. Another initiative examining the construction industry,

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Building a Better Quality of Life – a strategy for more sustainable construction emphasizes waste reduction, more recycling and the use of recycled materials in construction.

Alongside these initiatives are several funding and development opportunities. The relatively new Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) aims to develop markets for recycled products. The Landfill Tax Credit Scheme can also be a source of funds for recycling programmes.

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There has recently been substantial growth in the UK’s chipboard manufacturing capacity, with the opening in 2000 of a large new factory near Liverpool. As a result, there is an increase in demand for wood chip and the chipboard industry is increasingly looking to recycled wood as source of raw material.

Constraints

As well as these positive indications there are a number of constraints to the development of the wood recycling sector. Some specific constraints apply to using reclaimed timbers in building. The need to meet building regulations may be an issue in some applications such as load-bearing beams. Supply and demand is a potential constraint since it is difficult to guarantee the supply of items in the right location and at the right time. Demolition is highly mechanized, usually performed with large machines, few people and in a short time-scale. Reclaiming materials inevitably takes longer and is more labour intensive, although, of course, there are financial gains to be made from the sale of the materials. For wood reuse or recycling more generally one of the most commonly cited issues is contamination in the waste wood supply, a lot of waste timber being mixed with other materials. Wood treated with preservatives such as creosote also creates problems. At building sites, manufacturing facilities or civic amenity waste sites space to store waste wood separately is often an issue. Many sources of waste wood are small and dispersed. For example, the furniture industry in the UK comprises approximately 8,000 companies, typically with fewer than 20 employees each. The logistics of collecting small amounts of wood waste from these scattered locations could limit the potential for wood recycling. There is also currently a lack of wood recycling facilities or services – many waste wood producers contacted would be willing to do something with their waste but report a lack of companies offering recycling in their area. There are currently limited markets for recycled timber and the financial value of the material is relatively low and volatile in some markets such as the chipboard industry. The issue of Packaging Recovery Notes (PRNs) for recycling packaging has been very controversial with the value generally going to the end user, such as the chipboard mill, rather than the timber recycling companies. It has also been observed that awareness of the possibilities for waste wood is limited amongst some waste producers. Lastly, a few words about FFI’s wood waste project. The project aims to raise awareness of the issue of wood waste and the possibilities for improving the situation. We have produced a background report on wood waste in the UK (An Introduction to Wood Waste in the UK) and a public awareness leaflet that has been distributed through various channels. We have also undertaken significant press work on the issue. In collaboration with Friends of the Earth, FFI has produced a revised version of the Good Wood Guide, a consumer guide to choosing and using timber, with a significant focus on reducing waste and promoting the use of reclaimed timber. We have established an information service providing help and advice to enquirers. This includes the website mentioned earlier with the facility for private individuals and businesses to locate their nearest wood recycling operations. As well as this series of workshops other current initiatives include work with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) on the development and promotion of a label for recycled wood products, the production of best practice guidelines on waste minimisation within the furniture industry, a directory of companies that manufacture or sell furniture or other items made from reclaimed wood and research

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into waste levels in the musical instrument industry where many of the rare and threatened timbers are used. We would also like to develop some policy targets for wood waste.

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The legislative and policy framework for waste management in the UK Brigid Preston, Waste Strategy Division, Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) 7/E14 Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE. Policy context The legislative and policy framework for waste is shaped primarily by the document Waste Strategy 2000 and various EU Directives, particularly the Landfill Directive. Further developments in policy are outlined in the Government’s response to the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit report on waste, Waste Not, Want Not. The report can be found at http://www.strategy-unit.gov.uk/2002/waste/report_menu.shtml and the Government’s response to the report can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/review/index.htm Waste Not, Want Not focused principally on how the government can achieve the requirements of the Landfill Directive (Box 1). If the UK fails to achieve these requirements, it will start paying substantial fines to the EU, so there is a strong incentive to succeed. The document is a report to Government, and it recognizes that quite marked change in the way we regard waste is required. Wider wastes Because the Landfill Directive deals mainly with municipal waste, the wider waste streams were not widely covered in the report, however the Strategy Unit did produce a short report on non-municipal wastes called Management of Wider Wastes, which can also be found on their website. The Government response to Waste Not, Want Not has been published, and responds to the 42 recommendations in the report. There is a non-statutory target for the reduction of commercial and industrial waste in Waste Strategy 2000 – by 2005, to reduce the amount of commercial and industrial waste landfilled to 85% of 1998 levels. Landfill Directive The Landfill Directive is an important driver of waste policy, though targets only refer to municipal waste rather than waste in general. The majority of wood waste comes from the commercial and industrial waste streams, with a much smaller proportion from the municipal waste stream, principally Civic Amenity (CA) sites. However, the Directive’s targets will be the stimulus for a large increase in the amount of recycling and composting activity, and this is likely to affect the wood recycling industry.

Box 1. Requirements of the Landfill Directive

- By 2010 to reduce biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) landfilled to 75% of that in 1995. - By 2013 to reduce BMW landfilled to 50% of that in 1995. - By 2020 to reduce BMW landfilled to 35% of that in 1995.

Some local authorities are currently recycling and composting 30-33% of waste while others are managing only 1-2%. As recycling efforts increase, Local Authorities will increasingly look to recycle some of the smaller fractions of their waste stream, and this is likely to include wood waste, which is biodegradable, and therefore subject to the targets in the Landfill Directive. Box 2 shows the overall statutory targets for Local Authorities for the municipal waste stream. Each authority has a specific target based on historical recycling rates for that authority.

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http://www.strategy-unit.gov.uk/2002/waste/report_menu.shtml

http://www.strategy-unit.gov.uk/2002/waste/report_menu.shtml

Funding The £140 million Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund has been used to deliver additional recycling and waste minimization capacity to Local Authorities in 2002/03 and 2003/04. The fund will continue in 2004/05 and 2005/06 as a non-ringfenced fund, but the Government has rejected the Strategy Unit’s suggestion that it be opened up to the private sector. A total of £49.5 million is available through the New Opportunities Fund (a lotteries fund) for the ‘transforming waste’ programme. Details can be found at www.nof.gov.uk.

Box 2: Statutory targets for Local Authorities

Envirowise is a govmore profitable by found at www.envir Landfill Tax Another major drivtonne, and Budget 2per tonne in the me Landfill Tax is partwas not delivering third (£47 million) projects, while thedelivery programmdelivered by WRAP There are seven new

Local Auth• • • • • • •

Local AuthData and rNew technWaste minRecycling Education

WET Bill The Waste and EmiDisposal Authoritiewhich have yet to bthe development ofwaste. Packaging DirectivWood waste makes2002-2008 are currCouncil reached poother things, a maEnvironment Comm

To recycle or compost at least 25% of household waste by 2005.To recycle or compost at least 30% of household waste by 2010.To recycle or compost at least 33% of household waste by 2015.

ernment programme dedicated to helping companies become more competitive and reducing waste at source. Details of the assistance they provide to businesses can be owise.gov.uk

er behind increased recycling is the Landfill Tax. The tax is currently £14 per 003 announced that it would now rise by £3 per year to a level of no less that £35

dium term.

ly used to fund the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme. This has been reformed because it strategically targeted funding of waste management. The changes mean that one of landfill tax credit money will continue to fund local community environmental remainder has been redirected to public spending on a new sustainable waste e, managed by Defra. A number of the elements of this programme will be .

programmes: ority funding (led by Defra); ority support (led by Defra);

esearch (led by Defra); ologies (led by Defra); imization (led by WRAP); (focusing on organics) (led by WRAP); and awareness (led by WRAP).

ssions Trading Bill will set up the system of tradable landfill allowances for Waste s for biodegradable municipal waste. There will be penalties for non-compliance e worked out. This incentive to reduce biodegradable waste should be a driver for different options for processing or disposing of municipal waste, including timber

e up a significant proportion of packaging waste (e.g. pallets). Targets for the period ently under discussion in a review of the Packaging Directive. The Environment litical agreement on a Common Position in October 2002, which envisages, among terial specific target for wood packaging of 15%. The European Parliament ittee Rapporteur has since proposed higher overall recovery and recycling targets

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http://www.nof.gov.uk

http://www.envirowise.gov.uk

than the Common Position and the removal of a material specific target for wood. The European Parliament's second reading is expected in late June or July. WRAP The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) aims to create markets for recycled waste and has a crucial role to play in promoting recycling. New technologies Energy can be recovered from wood waste using advanced conversion technologies. Anaerobic digestion is not particularly suitable for processing wood but there is more potential from pyrolysis and gasification. How widespread these become depends on what sort of value can be added to wood waste in other applications and how quickly the technologies are introduced. The Government has committed to a programme to promote the implementation of new waste management technologies as an alternative to landfill disposal. Government policy on incineration is that it is an acceptable form of disposal if properly controlled. However, government would like to see incineration used for residual waste after recycling and composting are maximized.

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Waste and Resources Action Programme’s wood recycling programme Tom Fourcade & Liz Morrish, Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), The Old Academy, 21 Horsefair, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX16 0AH. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) was launched in November 2000 with the first staff in place in January 2001 and the first Business Plan launched in June 2001. WRAP has been established to promote sustainable waste management, with a particular focus on creating stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products. WRAP is a not-for-profit company in the private sector. WRAP has substantial government funding, with £40 million from Defra, the DTI, the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. This funding is for an initial three-year programme until the end of March 2004. We have more recently been awarded further support from the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund. This is providing £15.5 million for a two-year programme from April 2002, allowing us to establish a specific aggregates programme as part of our work. The Government has announced that it wishes to continue WRAP’s market development work and to extend WRAP’s remit. Please see www.wrap.org.uk for more information. Our aims are to promote sustainable waste management, achieve a step change in recycling, create stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products, and return secondary resource materials back to the productive economy. WRAP operates on both the supply and demand sides of the market in order to create market confidence, create a critical mass of demand, improve the economics of recycling and deliver sufficient high quality materials to recyclers. Five of our programmes are focused specifically on material streams – paper, glass, plastic, wood and aggregates. In addition to these we have three more generic programmes of standards and specifications, procurement and financial mechanisms. Within the wood programme, WRAP’s current activities include the following.

Six research and development projects on the identification of sources of wood waste, the greater use of wood waste in panel board and tools to detect contamination.

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A wood market study and standards review. The reports can be viewed and downloaded at www.wrap.org.uk. A study of new wood recycling applications such as wood/plastic composites. This is a big industry in the US and this study will collect information useful for commercial applications. The results are available and are designed to help potential investors who are interested in wood/plastic composites. A study of material arising from the construction and demolition industry. There is currently little reliable information on quantities produced and there has never been a national survey. This study will collect information and undertake an assessment to estimate the real levels of recyclable material available. Grant funding support.

One of WRAP’s new activities is the wood recycling map. There is currently a lack of information about recycling services and WRAP has designed an online tool that allows the identification of manufacturers of recycling products. We have surveyed all of the Local Authorities in the UK and have had a 96% response rate. The online facility provides a direct contact to individual companies and can found at www.recyclewood.org.uk.

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http://www.wrap.org.uk/

Another new activity is identifying feedstock specifications. This will provide an information resource for the recycling industry as well as advice on the technology and processes. The aim is produce industry standard specifications for all recycling applications and eventually raising industry standards. In the future WRAP will focus on supporting the development of added value end markets. It will also support the increased consumption of wood waste in panel board manufacturing. WRAP will also assist the wood waste industry to become more sophisticated in its approach to technology and processes. Finally, WRAP will aim to increase the demand for recycled wood products in target markets. WRAP has a number of projects that will be beginning soon.

A communications campaign to increase demand for recycled wood products in the construction, leisure and public sectors.

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The production of technical information resources for wood processing and recycling. A market evaluation for added value recycling applications such as animal bedding, decorative mulches and surfaces. A study on treated timber that will identify the best practical options for the management of waste wood treated with a variety of chemical substances and a summary of existing and forthcoming legislation. Creation of an industry forum for wood recycling and reclamation that would aim to improve communication, facilitate collaboration on key industry issues and links with other countries. A national campaign to promote the segregation of material for recycling by furniture manufacturers, building on work with the British Furniture Manufacturers Association and will involve promoting the availability of wood recycling opportunities for the furniture industry. The creation of a publicly available specification for wood waste consumption by the panel board industry.

Questions There were a number of questions to the speakers. The problem of creosote in railway sleepers was considered a serious issue. It was also pointed out that recycled wood was competing for markets with the UK forestry and sawmilling residues and was having a negative impact on these industries. The need to focus on value added markets was highlighted, since currently 90% of recycled wood was going into the panel board industry.

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The waste wood resource in the Manchester and Merseyside areas Gareth Mayhead, The Mersey Forest, The Mersey Forest Offices, Risley Moss, Ordnance Avenue, Birchwood, Warrington WA3 6QX. Andy Urquhart, The Urban Timber Initiative, ADAS, 16 Eastway Business Village, Olivers Place, Fulwood, Preston PR2 9WT. The Mersey and Red Rose Forest projects are part of the long term (30-40 year) Community Forest programme in England. The aim of the programme is to provide environmental regeneration by increasing the amount of tree cover in urban areas from 4% to 12%. The area of the Red Rose and Mersey Forests is approximately 196,000 ha. The programmes are funded through a partnership of the Countryside Agency, the Forestry Commission and 15 Local Authorities. Additional funding comes from European Union funds, landfill tax and private sector sponsorship. A number of projects have been developed to assist the timber industry sector and encourage sustainable management of urban woodland resources. These projects included the Green Business Network, the Urban Timber Initiative and The Mersey Forest Timber Network. Overall objectives are to:

direct wood waste away from landfill; • • • • • • •

•

•

establish local supply chains for local timber (virgin and recycled); develop markets and products; establish good practice; undertake research; develop partnerships and networks; create sustainable jobs.

One of the drivers behind the projects was the need to divert biodegradable waste from landfill and to develop products and markets for recycled material. The UK is committed to reducing the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill with a number of targets now set. There are a range of policy and legislative drivers that underpin this including the UK Waste Strategy, EU Landfill Directive, Cabinet Office Strategy Unit Report, Packaging Waste Regulations, the proposed Biowaste Directive and the Climate Change Levy. The research component of the Urban Timber Initiative included a scoping study that was undertaken in 1999 and 2000. A total of 6,000 questionnaires were sent out. The study highlighted that there was a substantial willingness to recycle arboricultural waste material. The main markets for arboricultural waste were wood chips, shredded or pulped. Some markets existed for higher quality material but these were ad hoc and for smaller volumes. However, it was clear that the infrastructure to recycle small amounts of waste was lacking, and that much waste still goes to landfill. According to the survey, 75% of manufacturers and suppliers do not recycle timber, as the quantities involved are considered too small. In addition, much of the timber waste at present is of poor quality or contaminated which maybe a barrier to recycling. The study also demonstrated that there was a strong need for education and improved awareness about the potential to recycle wood. The current markets for waste timber come from a range of sources.

Construction and Demolition Presently there is limited recycling of C&D waste since there are perceived problems with contamination. However there is significant potential for increased recycling in this sector.

Sawmills “Waste” is actually regarded as a co-product, and is a key element for cost effective sawmilling.

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Forest and Tree Surgery Waste Tree surgery is an extremely active sector within the project area. Material cut is generally regarded as waste and is broken down into small logs and chip. Uneconomic woodland thinning also creates residues including small diameter timber, brash and branch material.

•

•

•

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Small Furniture Manufacturers These generally have a single waste skip and do not generate enough wood waste to segregate timber. It is interesting that within the factory waste tends to be segregated by the very nature of processing and is only mixed up when placed in the single skip.

Domestic Waste This is the least desirable resource because of serious contamination problems.

Pallets and Packaging This is the key source of waste timber at present. Pallets have always been recycled since they are easily repaired and reused. The market is driven by Packaging Recovery Notes arising from the Packaging Directive, and waste wood from this source is worth a lot of money because of the PRN system.

Looking specifically at the use of pallets, they provide a source of clean softwood with a low moisture content, which is what timber recycling companies and end users are seeking. The industry is governed by the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste Regulations) 1997. The PRNs associated with this provide an easy paper audit trail, making it relatively simple to prove adherence to the Packaging Waste Regulations and the recycled fibre content in panel board products using recycled wood. This is important for panel boards that are certified under the Forest Stewardship Council or other certification schemes. There are a whole range of opportunities for using recycled timber waste including compost, panel products, paper, fuel, animal bedding and in wood-plastic composites. There are also novel products such as combining wood waste with shredded car tyres to produce insulated building panels. Mulch and soil improvers can be valuable although they are an “end of the line” product and cannot themselves be recycled. There is a potential to earn more significant revenue on lower volume, higher quality materials. Obviously the use of variable gate fees at recycling sites is a key driver in encouraging improved segregation and cleanliness of material. There are a number of potential problems with timber recycling. There is variability in the feedstock in terms of species, quality, moisture content, and contamination, that leads to higher processing costs. Roundwood prices are currently low and UK softwood production is increasing. There are still difficulties with processing technology and in collection and handling facilities. Finally, there is the issue of cost vs. quality. The Mersey Forest and Red Rose Forest’s latest projects include support for the timber sector (Timber2 and ICEP), a WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) funded study on the Wood Residues Footprint for the M62 Corridor (West) and the development of local infrastructure to handle timber waste (timber stations). In conclusion, there are considerable opportunities for the increased use of timber residues. The wood waste resource is significant, there is a favourable legislative framework and the processing technology is improving. Problems include the limited availability of data on the wood residue resource, the inadequacies of some of the current processing technology, the infrastructure gap and competition for

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better quality wood waste. The solutions include research, education and investment in infrastructure such as timber stations. Questions There was one question concerning the need for education in the wood recycling industry and amongst the regeneration agencies. The speakers agreed that there was a need to promote sustainability via education but thought there were other factors affecting wood recycling. The EU Landfill Directive was a case in point. The Government was committed to developing markets for recycled products but this would be difficult without a significant increase in the landfill tax. The UK was also moving towards more kerbside collection and sorting but this would not generally involve wood. Thus education is only one aspect of the problem.

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USES FOR WOOD WASTE

Using wood waste in chipboard manufacture (1) Richard Coulson, Kronospan Ltd., Chirk, Wrexham LL14 5NT. Kronospan Chirk is one of 24 companies in the Kronospan group and has an annual turnover of more than £1 billion. The company’s products include chipboard (both standard and furniture/superfine grade), tongue and groove flooring, various grades of MDF and melamine-faced panels. It has a 40 ha site that has various facilities and in 2002 it used in excess of 1 million tonnes of timber, both sawmill residues and recycled wood fibre (RWF). In 2002, approximately 250,000 tonnes of recycled wood fibre were used. Recycled wood fibre refers to clean white softwood chips with a chip size of approximately 50 mm. There must be less than 5% fines, that is material that will pass through a 3mm screen, and a moisture content of less than 25%. There can be no contaminated timber or MDF and all material received must be free from foreign bodies such as metal, stone and plastic. The process of recycling begins with the recycled fibre entering a cleaning plant. Kronospan has spent approximately £10 million on various plant to clean the waste wood before it enters the production process. The cleaned wood is then chipped, dried and sifted to produce the appropriate size chip for the core layer of the board. The RWF is then mixed with various additives and sandwiched between two layers of sawdust before entering the chipboard press. The material is subject to high pressure and temperature within the press that results in the ratio of the initial material entering the press to the final end product being eight to one. There are a number of problems with using RWF. The quality of the starting materials varies enormously and there are serious problems with contamination. Kronospan has invested heavily in cleaning technology. However, there is a need for further education at the bottom of the recycled wood supply chain and it is important to work with suppliers to get a better quality starting material. MDF cannot currently use recycled fibre as quality cannot be guaranteed. In conclusion, RWF is not a clean material. Although the company has produced specifications for the material it needs consistency is not guaranteed. Kronospan has made a considerable investment in RWF and has the capacity to use more but the quality of the starting material must improve. Questions There were many questions to the speaker. The issue of the Packaging Recovery Note value, which is currently realized by Kronospan rather than the timber recycling companies, was raised. A question on hardwoods revealed that Kronospan can accept about 20% hardwood in the waste wood, but it increases wear on the machinery blades. Questions were raised on the maximum amount of waste wood that Kronospan can use; currently, the company uses 250,000 tonnes a year, but the machinery could process up to 350,000 tonnes a year. The main limiting factor is the amount of board that can be sold but also the issue of cleanliness of the recycled material. At present, 60% of the raw material for chipboard is recycled wood; this could be increased to 70%, but no further because otherwise the product would lose the Forest Stewardship Council label. There is no technical reason why chipboard could not be made from 100% recycled wood, but there is quite a way to go to achieve this. The next stage would be to move on to using recycled wood fibre in MDF.

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Using wood waste in chipboard manufacture (2) Dr Harry Earl, Technical Manager, and Bernadette Wilson, Quality/Environmental Supervisor, Sonae UK Ltd., Moss Lane, Knowsley Industrial Park, Merseyside L33 7XQ. The use of recycled wood in panel products, specifically in the production of chipboard, is an essential part of today’s business. There are currently nine manufacturing sites in the UK that produce chipboard, two of which also produce MDF. There is one plant, which produces OSB, but this product does not involve the use of recycled wood. UK consumption of particleboard is 3.060 million m³ a year, and the UK industry produces 2.281 million m³ of product each year. For MDF, UK consumption is 1 million m³, while UK production stands at 850,000 m³. The use of recycled wood in the UK panel products industry has grown rapidly over the last few years. In 2001 for the 2.06 million tonnes (dry) of panel products produced in the UK, 795,000 tonnes (wet) of recycled wood was used, of which 50% was packaging material. In 2002, 2.10 million tonnes (dry) of board was produced using 932,000 tonnes (wet) of recycled wood, of which 71% was from packaging (Table 1).

Table 1. UK production of particleboard and use of recycled wood

Production Recycled Wood Packaging (m³) (tonnes, dry) (tonnes, wet) (tonnes, wet) 2001 3,125,000 2,060,000 795,000 400,000 2002 3,231,000 2,100,000 932,000 658,000 At Sonae UK, in 2001 we produced 222,000 tonnes (dry) of particleboard using 119,000 tonnes (wet) of recycled wood of which 94,000 tonnes (wet) came from packaging. In 2002 the figures were 220,000 tonnes (dry) of particleboard produced, using 210,000 tonnes (wet) of recycled wood, of which 175,000 tonnes (wet) was from packaging (Table 2).

Table 2. Sonae production of particleboard and use of recycled wood

Production Recycled Wood Packaging (m³) (tonnes, dry) (tonnes, wet) (tonnes, wet) 2001 352,000 222,000 119,000 94,000 2002 349,000 220,000 210,000 175,000 All but one of the chipboard plants in the UK use recycled material, though none to the extent of Sonae UK (Table 3). A small amount of recycled wood is used in MDF plants though none in OSB production. At Sonae the plant was purpose built, incorporating state of the art technology, to use recycled wood, with all the processing equipment for recycle wood being an integral part of the overall operation, to the extent that those sections of the plant must function whilst the plant is in operation. Today, a new plant to produce particleboard from recycled wood material would costs from £50 - 90 million.

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Table 3. Use of recycled wood and packaging waste at Sonae

Production Recycled Wood Packaging (tonnes) (% of raw material) (% of recycled wood) (% of Total) 2001 222,000 31 78 24 2002 220,000 55 83 45 The main raw material at the Sonae UK plant for particleboard production is recycled wood, with packaging material being maximized. The production of panel products is a complex process to produce the final product and the use of recycled wood presents a number of technical issues, that are in the main due to the problems of physical contamination of the recycled material, especially with stones and metals. As part of the programme to minimize these problems regular checks are undertaken on suppliers to ensure the incoming material is clean. Clean pallets are a good source material since contamination is low and the contaminants can be removed with magnets. This requirement precludes the use of general municipal waste and in particular demolition waste, which are susceptible to being contaminated with preservative treated materials. The recycled wood is decontaminated at several different points at the start of the process to remove the non-wood material. The wood chips are then reduced to an acceptable size, during which further decontamination takes place. The material is dried, from a moisture content of about 35% to 2%, and graded according to particle size before undergoing further decontamination. The material is then mixed with glue and pressed into board. The principle of the process is simple but in order to carry out the process efficiently this requires a complex production plant. The types of decontamination equipment are selected to remove all types of non-wood material at the optimum point of the process. Stones/metals are removed using density separation systems, magnets remove ferrous metals, and non-ferrous metals such as aluminium, lead and copper are removed with eddy current systems. Small items such as grit and sand can be very abrasive and have to be removed using latest technology density separation systems. The extra equipment and maintenance required to cope with the contamination costs in the region of £20 million. There are various regulatory requirements that cover the use of recycled wood and are an essential part of the operational procedures. This includes strict control of the incoming material that is supplied according to a very strict specification. The incoming material must be contaminant free, and this is controlled by strict checks on supplier’s material amassed at their individual sites, plus on-site checks at the point of delivery. Every load of incoming material is sampled and checked. Any material, which is not suitable, is rejected and sent off site. There are also regulatory limits on emissions to air and water. The air emissions limits are achieved by using the latest best available technology equipment (BAT) and to ensure compliance with water emissions any process water goes into a central catchment tank and is recycled back into the process. Energy efficiency is another major issue and energy use is being reduced in accordance with the governments Climate Change Levy programme to enable reductions in CO2 emissions to be achieved.

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Questions There were many questions to the speakers. One question concerned the toxicity of chemicals used in the resins. The resins are urea-formaldehyde and the level of free formaldehyde is very low. The resins and the final product conform to British and European standards. The speakers noted that Sonae is intending to increase production of panel board and so increase the use of recycled wood. At present the company experiences no problems getting recycled wood though sourcing clean wood can necessitate taking material from a fairly large area, although the main suppliers are currently within a 50 mile radius. Another question concerned dealing with fine material. Sonae uses a variety of filters to remove very fine material. The fines are then used to generate heat for drying wood and heating the main press. The speaker was asked about recycling of chipboard. Sonae can reprocess its own material though it does not take material from outside. It cannot currently deal with melamine though the company is looking at this. There was a final question about whether Sonae set out to be environmentally sustainable. The speaker responded that the plant was designed to use a high percentage of recycled wood and was chosen to be near a good supply of raw material. The plant initially used virgin timber but the amount used has decreased as supplies of recycled wood have increased.

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Making mulch from wood waste (1) John Jardine, County Mulch Ltd., The Watering Farm, Creeting St Mary, Ipswich IP6 8ND. County Mulch has been in existence since 1985 and has its roots in the farming sector. It is a privately owned company and produces bark and woodchip products for the landscaping industry at two sites in Suffolk. Raw material for bark products may come from as far afield as Spain and Estonia. The company also composts organic and green waste and reprocesses wood packaging. County Mulch’s composting operation takes place at its sites at Stanton and Creeting. At Stanton it processes 25,000 tonnes of waste a year and works in association with St. Edmundsbury Borough Council and Forest Heath District Council. At Creeting it processes 10,000 tonnes of green waste and 5,000 tonnes of packaging waste each year. In 2003 the company aims to process 45-50,000 tonnes of green waste at both sites. It is trialling the use of the resulting compost for the cultivation of mushrooms. Bark products are used as surface mulch, soil conditioners, growing media and playground materials. Timber that arrives at County Mulch is sorted by hand which is a laborious but necessary process because of real problems with contamination. No demolition timber is accepted for reprocessing. The material is stored and then chipped. County Mulch also takes in sawdust, woodchip and tree surgery waste. The main end product is landscape mulch that is worth between £5 and £30 per cubic metre. It can be used for golf course pathways, horse arenas and trails. County Mulch produces 150,000 m³ of mulch for the landscape and amenity markets and is a major national supplier of bark products and its Greentop range of recycled products. The company plans to increase the use of recycled materials as a substitute for traditional ones. Questions In response to a question on “dirty” wood, particularly from Local Authority Civic Amenity sites, the speaker responded that the company could deal with dirty wood and he believed that there was a large market for compost, with the agricultural sector having an important role to play.

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Making mulch from wood waste (2) Andrew Corry, General Manager, Tracey Timber Recycling, 49 Burnbrae Road, Linwood PA3 3BD. Tracey Timber Recycling Ltd. began trading in 1996 and is part of William Tracey Ltd., the largest waste management company in Scotland. In 1999 it diversified into coloured mulch production. In 2002 it supplied about 4,500 tonnes of added value materials. For raw materials we use good clean pallets. We avoid using pallets that have been constructed with chipboard or composite blocks. We shred and store materials separately. Initially we shred the raw material down to 40 mm using a 600 HP shredder that can deal with 25-30 tonnes per hour. The material is then screened to remove 5 mm dust and any oversize items. Metal extraction is vital and there are two overhead magnets, a pulley head belt magnet and an eddy current separator. We use a tub grinder to produce a 25 mm or smaller chip, which is the most aesthetically pleasing. For the colouring process a loadall feeds the mixing plant with raw woodchip. Dye and water are mixed and pumped into a spray manifold and a wormscrew fitted with paddles mixes and conveys the material. The drying process takes 3 to 5 days and the material is turned three times a day. We use compressed air drying. We have six drying bays and are limited for space. This means that we are sometimes under pressure to produce material. The selling points of coloured mulch are:

longevity; • • • • • •

it reduces the need for maintenance; it gives all year round colour; it has numerous applications; it naturally degrades; and it provides a source of nitrogen.

Its applications include car parks, roundabouts, roadside verges, playgrounds, ornamental gardens, planters and bedding areas. Questions In response to a question on Local Authority purchases of the product, the speaker said that Local Authorities are the biggest customers and they buy the product because it is robust and looks good. The speaker felt that government targets for sourcing recycled products would encourage Local Authorities to buy more recycled mulch. In response to a question about sources of timber other than pallets, the speaker commented that there were other possible sources of wood but contamination was an issue. The availability of pallets was currently not a problem

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Making mulch from wood waste (3) Rod Gifford, Managing Director, West Bromwich Pallets Ltd, Enviromulch, Brandon Way, West Bromwich, West Midlands B70 9PD. I began work in 1982 with a small amount of money and the business has always been successful. I purchased a grinder and colouring machine in 1992 at a total cost of £140,000 and the company was the first in Europe to produce coloured mulches from waste wood – initially we used pallets. The company is now considered to be the premier producer of coloured mulches in Europe. There is little in the way of competition in the coloured mulch sector and there is room for expansion. It would be helpful overall if this were to change. There is a huge market for mulches but at present many users are happy to use bark rather than the kind of materials I produce. Bark is a waste product whereas what West Bromwich Pallets produces is a quality product that is better than bark and will last longer. There does not appear to be enough assistance to promote the use of coloured mulches. For example, at present more than 3,000 m³ of bark a month is imported from Latvia. The health and safety regulations in Latvia are much poorer than in the UK and there is no check on the material once it arrives in the UK. This must raise concerns over the import of invasive insect species. At present the Forestry Commission treats timber from Latvia with methyl bromide, which must also raise concerns regarding health risks. I am also concerned that the material that is going into chipboard is of too high a quality. We need to develop more markets for quality material and more competition within these markets.

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Using recycled timber on a building project Guy Jackson, Senior Project Manager, Taylor Woodrow Construction, 41, Clarendon Rd, Watford WD17 1TR. Taylor Woodrow were the project managers and Design and Build contractors for Phase 2 of The Earth Centre in Doncaster, a millennium project. We dealt with funding applications, preparing a brief for the clients, developing the design and building the centre. Our focus was on the customer end user, remembering that we were building a visitor attraction and we used a variety of consultants and suppliers on the various projects within our brief. We had four main objectives agreed with our client, these were sustainability, good design, value for money and functionality. We used leading environmental architects for the project, Bill Dunster and Peter Clegg. In terms of using recycled timber, we had no real experience to begin with nor did it seem that there had been much industry exposure to the problem. The quantity needed was a real challenge. Reclaimed timber was to be used for structural elements, cladding and temporary works. To ensure contract commitments were met we set strict cut-off dates for sourcing it. We involved people such as Salvo, salvage yards, architectural salvage facilities (though these were very expensive) and demolition contractors. We also targeted buildings that were being demolished locally and auctions. The best source was a local salvage yard that stored and prepared boards and joists on our behalf. Timber needed to be stress graded and the moisture content was an issue. We needed to work out the volumes required and the sizes and if necessary reserve orders to ensure adequate supply. Nails were a big issue as they could damage both machinery and people. Some of our contractors refused to buy and work with reclaimed timber, fearing damage to their machinery. We therefore pre-prepared everything and guaranteed to repair any machinery that was damaged. In the event, there were no problems with this. We also used reclaimed radiators and reclaimed crushed concrete on the project. The first building we were involved with was the Welcome Centre, which was almost entirely made from reclaimed timber. All the internal work was reclaimed timber, apart from the doors. Reclaimed electric poles were used as main structural elements (in some cases they cost only £15 each as raw material) turned on a rigged up jig. We also used reclaimed timber in the conference centre, though not for the structural elements. We did use recycled material for insulation, flooring and other interior features. In the end using reclaimed materials instead of new was cost neutral. The use of recycled materials meant that every building was unique and had a wonderful aesthetic quality. There were some failures during the project: for example, we were unable to get the tolerances to make up doors and window frames. We also tried using recycled plywood but this just fell apart. There are a number of key points to remember when undertaking a project of this type.

You need allow plenty of time to source the material; it may be necessary for clients to appoint contractors at early conceptual stage to allow them an opportunity to source materials.

•

• •

• • •

Extra effort will be required to source the material. You need a loose fit design, in other words, especially for structural timber, the engineer must specify a minimum and maximum cross section that could be coped with in the design to allow flexibility in procurement. Solutions must be technically robust. You need to set the design early as it is difficult to cope with late changes. You need to use alternative valuation criteria.

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Such projects can be cost neutral if done with care. • • Knowledge is key.

Finally we found that working to wider social objectives was a great motivator both to our team and our suppliers. Questions There were a number of questions concerning the construction process. Asked if dry rot and woodworm were problems, the speaker acknowledged that they often bought material blind, though every piece of timber was inspected visually. They needed to work closely with on-site people to ensure quality of construction was maintained. One question concerned obtaining insurance and warranties. The speaker confirmed that all design and construction was backed by their professional indemnity insurance that provided satisfactory cover. One questioner asked if using UK chipboard with a higher recycled content would have increased the overall percentage of recycled material in the final product. The speaker stressed that reuse was more sustainable than recycling and using chipboard would have had problems relating to the glue content, processing energy and transportation. Asked about similar projects, the speaker said that they did exist but that none were quite so committed to reuse and recycling of permanent construction materials. The company was using its positive experiences as encouragement and demonstration that such ideas were feasible and provided a good product.

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Making items from recycled timber Cathi Lillis-James, Buried Treasure Ltd., The Park, Daventry Road, Bristol BS4 1QD. Buried Treasure is a not-for-profit organisation that has three interlinking, environmentally-based projects and eight employees. We work with all sectors of the community, including New Deal participants and volunteers, and we also offer a range of workshops and training. We had established a Community Organic Gardening project, and realized that we were using a lot of timber on this. We therefore decided to look in to starting a timber recycling project. For information we visited several other wood recycling projects including Wood Yew Waste in Plymouth, Wildwood in Doncaster and the Brighton and Hove Wood Recycling Project. We then contacted the Environment Agency for advice and permits and finally approached construction sites to provide us with their waste timber. We eventually borrowed a van and were able to collect about two to three tons at a time, charging for this service. These visits gave us an opportunity to educate builders. The timber from construction sites was mixed and included roofing joists, sheets of plywood and battens. Some of this wood had been treated. We then initiated a contract with a major DIY firm to collect their timber and end of line waste. This included decorative and tanalised timber, planking, posts, fencing, garden furniture and doors. Some of this was resold to the community and the profit used to cover the costs of rent, etc. For the first year we sold or chipped most of the timber we collected. In October 2002 we employed a part-time woodworker to work with our volunteers to produce a small range of garden items, such as planters, using simple templates. Since a number of different people will produce the items, they have to be of a simple design that is easy to replicate. The woodworkers also have to be inventive in how they use the variety of material that we collect. While the end product will appeal to the green consumer because it has been produced from waste timber, it must also be attractive. Items are generally supplied unpainted. Timber that is not of a good enough quality to be used for making these items is used for kindling or shredded to make compost, which is used on our own community gardens. There is a strong training element in the work we do and we have to work with a great variety of people with varying levels of skill. It is a very labour intensive operation. Like many community organisations, marketing is one of our weak points. We are currently developing a new website. This is being done through another of our projects, Byte Back Computer Recycling, which was set up in January 2002. We have approached garden centres about selling our planters via them, and have had an encouraging response. The problem is that they require us to produce completely uniform, identical products, which given the nature of our starting material is not always possible. We are hoping to get a display at the Central Library but we have not gone down the route of traditional advertising due to cost constraints. There are a number of challenges in the project we do. The first is the space available to store timber. Storing timber takes a lot of space and it is important to try and prevent stored material from warping. We have been renting four shipping containers but they are not ideal for storing timber. The second challenge is that our operation is very labour intensive and we do rely on volunteers. The final challenge is funding. We are located in an area where there is a lot of competition for grants so expanding the project has been slower than we would have liked. We are however on the brink of moving and this will give us more space.

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Our future plans are to ensure that Buried Treasure is a sustainable company with a long-term future. We were recently selected to be part of the Gold Standard for social enterprises that will help us develop our ideas and income streams. We see Woodworks Recycling as having the potential to be profitable and viable, offering a range of useful products for sale as well as an environmentally friendly alternative to skipping wood waste. We would like to ensure that we are not grant dependent in the long term. We are also aiming to develop an experienced team of woodworkers who will run the production line and train volunteers. Questions The speaker was asked if they made indoor furniture. This was problematical because of quality issues. The speaker also acknowledged that supplying garden centres was difficult because of the quantities required and also the necessity for consistency in the appearance of the product.

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Knotwood – a new use for waste timber Ches Orme, Chairman, Plastics Reclamation Ltd., Bold Industrial Park, Neills Road, Bold, St Helens, Merseyside. Our company is a plastics recycler and Knotwood is made from 50% recycled plastic and 50% waste wood. Knotwood was launched in October 2002 as a revolutionary new alternative to timber for decking, fencing, outdoor furniture and garden buildings. The plastic is recycled polyethylene, which is mixed and blended with the wood. We can use a range of sources of timber. The wood is dried to a moisture content of less than 5%. The technology is proven, wood plastic composites being extensively produced in the US where about 600,000 tonnes of wood composites are produced currently, and this is set to rise to 850,000 tonnes by 2006. Knotwood is ideal for decking as it will not rot and is waterproof. The UK market for decking is large, with about £150 -170 million spent each year. Branding is very important; Knotwood is the first of its kind in the UK and we are just starting in Europe. We have invested £700,000 in two lines and can produce a range of types of material. The product is completely recyclable. We can also produce flame retardant Knotwood products. By adding a special epoxy resin we can produce materials with a Class 1 Fire Rating. This can be used for fire doors, electrical trunking for railway cables and ceiling panels to replace asbestos. In this case we use 70% waste wood, rather than 50%. Knotwood has won the National Recycling Awards 2002 Recycled Product of the Year award and an award at the Groundwork Merseyside 21 Business and Community Awards 2003. There are other initiatives underway which may lead to new uses for waste wood. Work is on-going in Japan to remove the lignin from waste wood and to remanufacture wood using waste paper. The resulting artificial wood is identical to fine-grained natural wood but stronger and without annual growth rings. It can be formed into planks using lignin, or moulded into furniture. It would decompose naturally, be repeatedly recyclable, affordable and almost inexhaustible. Questions There were many questions about Knotwood and how it could be used. The speaker confirmed that Knotwood has a very long shelf life with no rot seen after 15 years. There is no real limit to the dimensions in which Knotwood can be produce, though it is not currently suitable for structural use. It is suitable for window frames where there is a high risk of rot. Knotwood can be welded and screwed using conventional tools and is machinable. It is more expensive than softwood but less expensive than hardwood. It is not possible to compete on price with preserved timber. One question concerned supplies of plastic. The speaker stressed that they currently had enough supplies of recycled plastic though it was expensive to collect. If Knotwood took off, plastic supplies might be a limiting factor.

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COLLECTING AND PROCESSING WASTE TIMBER

Recycling timber on a commercial scale (1) Stuart Howarth, Business Development Manager, Hadfield Wood Recyclers, Lumm Farm, Lumb Lane, Littlemoss, Droylesden, Manchester M43 7LB. Hadfield Wood Recyclers has been established as a wood reprocessor for well over 17 years. Prior to this our company was engaged as part of the farming community before progressing into waste management and latterly wood recycling. Owing to the escalating amounts being sent to landfill, we looked at ways of becoming more environmentally friendly and studied the waste entering the site. It soon became apparent that a large proportion of the waste was timber. We then set about developing processes to allow the recycling of the material and began to supply the UK panel board industry with recycled chip. The other waste management elements of the business were sold and we are now purely a timber recycling company. As a company we accept all soft and hardwoods such as pallets, off-cuts, boxes, packing cases and we are able to deal with chipboard, melamine/laminates and MDF. Our company has the capacity to deal with all types of metallic contamination be it ferrous or non ferrous. We offer a full UK collection service tailored to meet the needs of our nationally based customers. This can be in the form of 40 or 50 yd³ containers, curtain-sided tautliners, bulkers and walking floors. Our company will assess the best method for the removal of waste wood material. A tip on site facility is also available for customers who wish to bring their waste wood directly to us. Prior to production all material arrives over a weighbridge. This is a very important aspect as this allows us to monitor loads coming onto and off the site and provide a full audit trail. The site is concreted throughout making it ideal for all types of vehicles and the material is mechanically off loaded. It is then manually sorted for contamination and segregated into different material types. All of the contaminants, usually less than 3%, go to landfill. The production process involves loading material into hammer mills. The timber is shredded and ferrous and non-ferrous separators remove any metal. It then travels through an air grading process which removes further contamination such as grit, glass etc. The material is then transported by conveyor to a storage facility. The end product is used to produce a variety of products including chipboard, Easibed soft bedding for animals, cattle/poultry bedding, fuel and compost. We are able to provide detailed information for customers, including an assessment on-site, where we can provide a quote and list of acceptable materials, a full audit trail, load specific information (dates and times) and tailored reports. We are registered with the Environment Agency, are a Registered Waste Carrier, a Licensed Waste Transfer Station and an Accredited Reprocessor, thus we are to supply Package Recycling Notes. Our Managing Director is Vice Chairman of the Wood Recyclers Association and we take part in numerous working groups and committees. In November 2002 we received a Recycler of the Year award for the best reprocessing initiative for our animal bedding product Easibed. In conclusion, we recycle a wide variety of waste wood and can offer flexible and cost effective solutions that are tailored to meet the needs of individual customer’s. We are government accredited and are continually developing end markets for reprocessed material.

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Recycling timber on a commercial scale (2) Martin Bond, Hambrook Pallets Ltd., Iron Church Road, Off St Andrews Road, Avonmouth, Bristol BS11 9AF. Our company started 26 years ago and we are involved in reusing pallets. We employ 100 people at four sites, producing 100,000 pallets a month, 70% of which are reclaimed. We started recycling timber 15 years ago. We had a big problem with our own waste and thus we invested in a chipping machine. In 1999 we installed a chipping plant. We now have another chipping plant in Pontefract that produces 1,000 tonnes of chip a month, while our Bristol plant produces 12,000 tonnes a month. Our timber sources include wood waste from outside and our own waste. We have our own skips for collecting demolition waste. Any pallets that come in are generally recycled while any chipboard or MDF goes to landfill. In our own bins that come in about 50% are pallets and 50% is demolition waste. Overall 70% of the material we receive is packaging waste and 30% is demolition waste. In general, most demolition waste would normally go to landfill since packing waste is usually all that is wanted. We take out the fines and screen out the wood. Any oversize pieces of wood go back into the machine. The fines are used as compost. Sawdust is a real problem and we have not found a suitable market for this. There is a problem with incoming wood being contaminated with chemicals but it is not always possible to tell if this is the case. The wood waste part of our business is increasing while the reused pallet part is decreasing. Unfortunately, in many cases it is cheaper to buy new timber pallets than reuse them. We currently repair about 90% of the pallets we receive. We would like to issue our own PRNs and obtain more money through this source. Questions The speaker was asked if there are alternative markets for wood waste. There are a few contracts from nurseries who burn wood to heat greenhouses but these are generally small markets. It was pointed out that PRNs are distorting the market and a lot of people are chipping rather than reusing pallets. The speaker felt that pallets would increasingly go to operations in the north of England where there was still a substantial manufacturing base.

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Timber recycling at a small to medium-sized company Barrie Marshall, Huntingdon Recycling, Woodhatch Farm, Thrapston Road, Ellington, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28 0AE. Huntingdon Recycling is a small concern that recycles wood waste at a site at Brampton Woods. It began by buying and selling timber through a tree surgery business. It then started to chip brushwood and from that developed a horticultural side that produces compost that is sold as a soil improver. Three years ago the company recycled 1,000 tonnes of green waste. In 2002 it recycled 8,000 tonnes of green waste including 1,000 tonnes of wood waste. The timber that is processed comes mainly from the packaging industry (pallets, crates, etc) and from Local Authority sites, though in the latter case this is often ‘dirty’ wood such as fence posts and old furniture. A lot of the material is shredded and sent out for chicken and turkey litter and to the board industry. There are a number of problems with the processing of timber. The incoming material must be shredded and any nails or other contaminating items removed. There is currently a real problem with metals damaging the processing machinery and it is important that suppliers are educated about this issue. It is also important that revenue from PRNs should go to the recyclers rather than just the end users of the woodchips. It is also felt that there will be a problem of overproduction in the next few years. This will mean having to cut the price for taking recycled material. The use of recycled material for turkey and chicken litter is potentially lucrative. There are also outlets for ‘dirty’ timber that can be used for horse race tracks and dog kennel runs. Sawdust from ‘dirty’ wood can also be used for cattle bedding. This has become more valuable since the price of straw has risen rapidly in the last year. Looking at the future, there is some opposition to recycling from within industry. In particular, skip companies are reluctant to spend time sorting out timber in skips. It is vital that new markets for recycled timber are found because the price of recycled timber will inevitably drop. The fact remains that millions of tonnes of wood is still going into landfill. Questions In response to a question about the scope of the market for “dirty” wood, the speaker pointed out that there is a lot of competition from other materials (e.g. shredded rubber tyres) in the suitable markets.

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Recycling timber from the municipal waste stream (1) Mark Shelton, Cambridgeshire County Council, Shire Hall, Castle Hill, Cambridge CB3 0AP. Cambridgeshire County Council has been undertaking a trial looking at the recycling of timber and wood waste. The trial was started as a result of the tough recycling targets that are currently in place. The Government target set for Cambridgeshire was 28% recycling in 2003/4 but the Council decided to go for a Public Service Agreement so the target increased to 33%. This was broken down into targets of 25% recycling for District Councils (which includes both doorstep collections and bring sites) and 65% recycling at Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs), giving an average of 33%. A Waste Analysis survey was conducted by AEA Technology to establish the types and amounts of waste, including timber, taken to HWRCs. For the analysis, waste was collected from 50 visitors at two sites (the county’s busiest and least busy sites were chosen) on a weekend and a weekday in June and November. From this it was concluded that timber made up 12-20% of material at HWRCs while garden waste accounted for 19-28%. The county’s HWRCs are run by contractors and, while the previous contracts included a flat rate fee for every tonne recycled, we have recently put in place new contracts with incentives for more recycling. If less than 55% of the waste is recycled, a penalty is incurred by the contractee. A recycling rate of 55-60% generates a bonus, whilst a recycling rate of over 60% earns an enhanced bonus. Driven by these contracts, the Council was asked by the contractors running HWRCs to investigate possible new recycling initiatives. Cambridgeshire County Council is keen to recycle anything it can find a market for at a reasonable cost. We received a speculative approach from a company called Pallets Unlimited, who were seeking new sources of recycled timber and we jumped at the chance. We decided to run a trial using Pallets Unlimited who provide recycled woodchip for chipboard manufacture. At the same time we discovered that one of our compost contractors, Huntingdon Recycling, were taking pallets from local companies and they were also keen to run a trial. They were using recycled timber largely for animal bedding such as turkey litter with some being composted. So we decided to run a trial using these two companies. We felt a trial was necessary to assess potential costs, ascertain likely tonnages, see if the material specifications could be met and see if the markets were sustainable. In particular we were unsure whether we could collect the right quality timber from the public or whether we would get a lot of rejected loads. A problem is that the general public see HWRCs as rubbish tips rather than recycling centres and occasionally centres have to be closed because of this. The trial scheme was undertaken at two sites, Alconbury and Thriplow, starting in September 2001. Forty-cubic-yard skips were provided exclusively for timber. In both cases these were skips that were reallocated from general waste so there were no problems with extra space being required. A detailed material specification was provided to site managers and the scheme was publicized in the local press and radio. The Alconbury site accepted chipboard (in limited quantities), treated wood (e.g. creosoted), hardwood and softwood. The material from Alconbury went to Huntingdon Recycling for use in animal bedding and compost. The Thriplow site had a tighter specification for the material they would accept, taking primarily white softwood, including wood with some metal contamination such as hinges and nails. Material from Thriplow went to Pallets Unlimited for use in chipboard. The material collected during the trial included fence posts and panels, bits of garden sheds, doors, DIY offcuts and broken wooden furniture. After one year, we had collected 104.22 tonnes of timber at Alconbury. The total cost of recycling the material was £3,367.35, or £32.31 per tonne, and we increased the recycling rate for the site by 2.9%. The cost of disposing of this material to landfill from Alconbury would have been £45.13 per tonne (£15.81 per tonne for transport plus £16.50 per tonne gate fee at the landfill site) or £4,733.04 for the 104.22 tonnes collected. Recycling the timber

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therefore saved £1,336.10. At Thriplow, we collected 89.24 tonnes of material which cost £3,964.55 to recycle, or £44.43 per tonne, and we increased the recycling rate by 1.7%. The cost for landfilling from Thriplow is £47.81 per tonne (£36.21 per tonne for transport plus £8.24 per tonne gate fee) or £4,266.56 for the 89.24 tonnes collected. Recycling the timber at Thriplow therefore saved £302.01. Overall, the results of the trial were that recycling the timber saved 27% in landfill costs and gave a nearly 3% increase in recycling rate. The results from Alconbury were best since there was a less stringent material specification there and transport costs to Pallets Unlimited (who took the material from Thriplow) were rather high since the company is located in Hertfordshire. We only had one load rejected throughout the trial and there were no problems with markets at the time, although we have since heard that the chipboard market is getting squeezed. The staff running the sites got higher bonuses and we had no space problems, having reallocated a skip from general waste. Of course, if we had needed a new timber skip there would have been extra costs for skip rental. The scheme has now been expanded to all nine of the County’s Recycling Centres that are operated under standard contract (there is one more that is operated under a design, build and operate contract). We have negotiated gate fees with two composters, Huntingdon Recycling and Donarbon. Huntingdon Recycling produce animal bedding, chipboard and compost while Donarbon are trialling garden and foothpath material as well as chipboard and compost. We are planning more press releases to promote the scheme and to date have collected nearly 500 tonnes of timber. The plan is to increase the county’s recycling rate by at least 3.0% through timber recycling. However, the AEA Technology waste analysis showed that around 12% of waste brought to HWRCs was timber but that recycling has only increased by a quarter of this. At the time we did not ask for a breakdown of timber types and so we will ask for another analysis of the types of timber being discarded at HWRCs to see if there is further scope to increase timber recycling rates. Questions In response to a question, the speaker clarified that a £4 million grant recently awarded to Cambridgeshire County Council was specifically for kerbside green waste collection. Speaking about the analysis of material brought to Civic Amenity sites that the Council had undertaken, the speaker said that they had not recorded the type of timber items that were brought to the site in this study, but that this would have been useful information to collect.

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Recycling timber from the municipal waste stream (2) Rob Chaddock, Commercial Manager (Recycling and Composting), Waste Recycling Group, Barton House, Darland Lane, Lavister, Wrexham LL12 0EL. Trevor Smart, Business Development Manager – Recycling, Waste Recycling Group, Sutton Courtenay Offices, Appleford Sidings, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4PW. About 20% of municipal waste is thought to be wood. Sources include DIY wood, building waste, garden waste, furniture and packaging. Waste wood arises in several different types of municipal waste.

Collected Domestic Waste Around 20.2 million tonnes of CDW are produced each year in the UK, about 1.2% of which is wood. Potentially there is 240,000 tonnes of wood a year in this stream but it is difficult to separate and is not well suited to recycling.

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Domestic Bulky Waste About 657,000 tonnes of domestic bulky waste is produced each year of which 6% is “combustible”. This equates to 40,000 tonnes a year, much of which is furniture that is well suited to reuse through community groups such as Furniture Recycle Network.

Civic Amenity Waste About 6.6 million tonnes of waste is produced from Civic Amenity sites each year, of which 23% is estimated to be wood. This equates to about 1.5 million tonnes of wood from this source which has the advantage that it can be readily separated.

Parks, construction waste etc. Wood from parks and garden tends to be composted already. However, wood waste from housing departments is well suited to recycling and is likely to be dealt with in the same way as commercially arising building timber waste.

Looking at the municipal wood waste stream as a whole, most wood is from Civic Amenity sites. Of the 1.5 million tonnes produced at Civic Amenity sites, 330,000 tonnes is estimated to be furniture, 420,000 tonnes is branches and 750,000 tonnes is timber. The timber is a real mixture but a large percentage is chipboard and fibreboard, with quantities of treated wood, painted wood, untreated wood, solid wood furniture, block board and virgin timber. There are a variety of uses for this timber including chipboard manufacture, reuse, compost, energy recovery, firewood, footpath surfacing and animal bedding. However a lot of the timber is not suitable for these uses. Suitable timber to collect for recycling includes softwood waste, floorboards, boxes and pallets, offcuts, plywood and chipboard (the latter two need to make up less than 10% each of the material collected). Unsuitable timber includes tree branches, railway sleepers, MDF, hardboard, melamine or formica laminates, cardboard-filled doors and preservative-treated wood. Given that a significant proportion of the timber at Civic Amenity sites cannot be recycled why bother trying to set up a recycling scheme? The main incentives are the cost savings that can be made relative to landfill disposal and improvement in the recycling rates to meet the demanding targets set for local authorities. CA wood recycling currently costs £15 to £25 per tonne. Experience has shown that recycling timber can improve the actual recycling rate (as a proportion of the sites inputs) at a Civic Amenity site by 8-12% of input for urban sites and 2-6% for rural sites. What is needed for an effective recycling scheme is plenty of space for storage, 35 to 50 yd³ skips and clear signage. The public also need to be well managed by on-site staff to ensure that the quality of deposited timber is maintained. There are limitations on recycling in that some sites are not big enough

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for the installation of dedicated containers. There are also limited outlets for particle board. Reuse may also be an option, for timber and for furniture, both from Civic Amenity sites and Domestic Bulky Waste collections. In conclusion, Civic Amenity sites offer the best opportunity for recycling timber from the municipal waste stream. It is financially justifiable and can give a good improvement in actual recycling rates, 8-12% at urban sites and 2-6% at rural sites. It may not be possible to recycle timber on small sites due to space constraints. The scheme needs to be carefully managed to try to maintain the quality, but even with good management quality issues will limit the uses of the wood. Particleboard presents a difficulty for recycling. Questions There were questions about managing Civic Amenity sites. The speakers emphasized that layout was very important and it was vital that the general public were well managed to ensure the right type of timber was being presented for recycling.

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Recycling timber from the municipal waste stream (3) Andrew Bird, Senior Engineer Waste Management, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Department of Environment & Transport, Waste Management Group, Cromer Road, Northwood, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 6QN. Stoke-on-Trent City Council has been a unitary authority since 1997. We have 108,000 households and a population of 250,000 in our area. In 2002/3, household waste arisings amounted to 116,000 tonnes, of which we recycled 15%. We have a target of recycling 27% of material by 2005-6 though it will be a challenge to achieve this. We have two household waste and recycling sites with a third under construction due to open in August 2003. These sites have a total throughput of 40,000 tonnes a year In 1998 we opened a household waste site at Burslem where the design was purely based around recycling. We commenced timber recycling at Burslem as soon as it opened, although it wasn’t until 2001 that we found a reprocessor for the material. We put a lot of effort into segregation of various types of timber. Our experience of separating timber over the past five years has shown that significant quantities can be obtained from the household waste stream, indeed the amount is second only to general waste (see Table 1). Timber represents 14% of the waste input at Burslem and recycling it contributes 1.5% to the Council’s recycling figure.

Table 1. Material collected in one year at the Burslem Household Waste and Recycling Centre

Type of waste Amount (tonnes) General 7,051 Green waste 1,570 Wood 1,725 Metal 934 Glass 82 Card 193 Batteries 50 Fridges 140 Paper 206 Oil 18 Textiles 27 Cans 5 TOTAL 12,005

Our Burslem site was designed with an emphasis on recycling rather than waste disposal and aimed to allow members of the public to recycle easily. Education is one of the keys to success. Sites must provide clear and understandable signage and have adequate staffing levels to ensure materials are properly segregated. Another key is to find a reprocessor who is willing to work with you to get the correct type of material to be recycled and to provide a reliable and sustainable output. In the future, we plan to introduce timber recycling at a second site at Hanford, and on the third site that is currently under construction. We anticipate generating 5,000 tonnes of timber a year for recycling, which will contribute 4.3% to our overall recycling performance. In conclusion, recycling timber from the municipal waste stream has the potential to significantly increase a local authorities’ recycling performance. However, as with other materials, the road to success needs a sustained approach in provision of outlets and education of the public.

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Questions The speaker was asked about how site operatives were encouraged to recycle materials. At Burslem there was a bonus scheme for better than average results and a penalty scheme where results were worse than average.

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The Brighton and Hove Timber Recycling Project Richard Mehmed, Brighton and Hove Timber Recycling Project, Units 32-36, Municipal Market, Circus Street, Brighton BN2 9QF. The Brighton and Hove Wood Recycling Project was set up in 1998 with the aim of rescuing and reusing as much wood waste as possible. It is a not-for-profit company that is low tech and low capital intensive. Prior to this scheme, no wood recycling was carried out in the area. There was not even any reliable information on how much wood was potentially available for recycling. It was clear, however, that there was a huge amount of wood packaging waste generated by the commercial sector, a great deal in the domestic waste stream and a large amount produced by the building industry. The working practices of skip companies meant that it was not cost-effective to sort wood waste once it had been put into a skip and mixed with other rubbish, it was cheaper to landfill it than separate it. The Project set out to collect wood directly from building sites, charging less than the equivalent cost of a skip. This way, builders had the financial as well as environmental incentive to recycle. In other words, the Project provides the cheapest form of wood waste disposal, it has to compete. The material collected from construction sites is sorted by hand and graded. Grade 1 is large pieces of clean, sound timber such as long lengths, sheet materials, doors and window frames and anything potentially useful for DIY. Grade 2 is also sound timber but perhaps too short or small to be easily used for DIY. This, however, could be used for making a whole range of wood products and the Project has developed the wood Marque. This symbol could be placed on all items made from recycled wood and would help raise awareness amongst consumers. Grade 3 is poorest quality timber, such as broken pallets and offcuts. Representing the largest part of the wood waste stream, the Project’s long-term aim is to see Grade 3 wood used as a fuel. This would result in only the most contaminated wood being sent for landfill. Early on, it was clear that there was a market for recycled timber, so the Project opened the WoodStore, the country’s first, and still the only, timber merchant selling only recycled wood. The store has been a great success and now takes between £1,500 and £2,000 per week. Many local woodworkers are using Grade 2 timber to craft all sorts of items and the Project also sells a large amount of firewood/kindling in the winter so much of the poorest quality timber is already being diverted from landfill. In fact up to 85% of the incoming wood is successfully reused. Apart from a few small setup grants the Project is entirely financially self-supporting. The entry costs for this kind of project are very low, making it good for the community sector. It brings many benefits by reducing waste and saving resources, creating relatively low skilled but highly worthwhile jobs, providing a source of low-cost wood for the community and by having a low environmental impact. The project currently has a turnover of £120-130,000 a year and employs six people. Since its launch, 3,000 tonnes of wood have been recycled but the most exciting thing is that the Project is fast becoming a model for similar schemes around the country. Several have already set up and our aim is to help many more over the coming years. That would result in a lot of resources saved, a lot of jobs created and a lot less wood ending up in landfill.

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PROMOTING RECYCLED WOOD PRODUCTS

Labelling recycled timber products

Nick Cliffe, Marketing Communications Manager, Forest Stewardship Council UK, Unit D, Station Building, Llanidloes SY18 6EB. The mission of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is to promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests. FSC is an independent, international non-profit organisation. It is an association of over 500 members including timber traders, retailers, processors, manufacturers and trade associations, trades unions and indigenous peoples and environmental organisations such as Greenpeace, WWF and Friends of the Earth. FSC is an international accreditation and standardisation organisation. The roles of FSC UK are to coordinate the setting of FSC standards in the UK, the provision of an information service, the promotion and marketing of the FSC trademark and its protection and acting as a representative for FSC in the UK. In the UK, 70% of commercial forest and woodland is FSC certified - this equates to 38% of total woodland cover in the UK. Over 280 Chain of Custody certificates have been awarded and over 10,000 product lines in Europe have FSC approval. The FSC has major retail backing from companies such as B & Q, Homebase and Focus. FSC can issue group certificates for smaller companies and forest owners who might otherwise find the certification process too expensive. We already have a policy in place that supports the use of recycled material. The use of the FSC label is permitted on products containing up to 82.5% recycled content where the other 17.5% is FSC-certified virgin fibre. The definition of recycled content includes both pre- and post-consumer wood and wood fibre. There is no distinction between grades nor the different proportions of such grades. We advise companies to follow ISO 14021 covering Environmental Labels and Declaration - Self Declared Environmental claims. In September 2002 FSC made a decision to develop new systems for labelling of verified recycled/reclaimed timber. In particular FSC was looking to revise the definitions of grades and types of recycled/reclaimed/rediscovered and non-wood material and to draw up new rules for the use of the FSC logo on products containing up to 100% recycled or reclaimed/rediscovered material. The new system will enable manufacturers to combine reclaimed, recycled and FSC-certified virgin materials without needing to worry about losing the FSC label as an increasing proportion of reclaimed/recycled material is used. The scheme will demonstrate FSC's commitment to promote the development of all kinds of activities addressed to the preservation and maintenance of forests. It will provide benefits to FSC by extending our presence in the market and by strengthening our credibility and system for verifying recycled claims. It will also increase the value of the FSC logo among committed consumers. The scheme also provides and opportunity to demonstrate that the use of wood from well managed forests is not in conflict with efforts to encourage recycling and to contribute to reducing the overall demand for uncertified virgin fibre. The benefits to industry will be: that there will be a credible system/label for establishing the provenance of recycled timber content; that it allows for the continued use of the FSC trademark on products with a high recycled content (up to 100%); that it will ease the problem of identification of recycled content for those who are running green procurement policies in government departments;

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and since FSC certification requires independent third party auditing, it could be combined with the packaging waste auditing process. In May 2003 there was a meeting to review labelling options for recycled/reclaimed material that meets FSC requirements. Between May and July any outstanding issues were finalized and further field testing undertaken. During the summer we finalized the draft standards with stakeholder input and then submitted these to the FSC board for endorsement. Following this, standards will be available for uptake and use by interested parties.

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Developing markets for recycled wood products Toby Beadle, Urban Harvest Ltd., Featherstones, Tunstall, Wolsingham, Co. Durham DL13 3LX. Urban Harvest is an organisation that specializes in developing recycled products and introducing these to the market. We are currently working with WRAP, with multiple retailers to develop the sales of peat alternatives, and with the Forest Stewardship Council to produce a new label for recycled wood products. It is not true that there is a lack of markets for recycled wood but rather a lack of marketing. There are ample markets out there and it is a question of producing satisfactory products to meet the demand. The chipboard sector could take much more recycled wood and the energy sector is huge. The horse bedding market is worth £90 million a year while the gardening market is worth £3 billion a year. There are 42 million chickens in the UK that need bedding. Some of the applications of recycled wood products are listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Examples of applications of recycled wood products

Applications of recycled wood products

Raw material (RM) or Added Value product (AV)

Chipboard RM Landscaping AV Gardens AV Pathways AV Potted plant topping AV Play surfaces AV Civic schemes e.g. roundabouts AV Riding surfaces AV Cat litter RM & AV Poultry and horse bedding AV Composites AV Energy pellets RM & AV

One barrier to recycling is public perception. Many people think that recycling is someone else’s problem and the public do not think about buying recycled products. Too often, recycling is thought of as collection but it is our contention that recycling has not happened until a product has been made from the material and sold in the market. There is also a perception that recycled products are poor quality, are made from waste and should be cheaper than new products. There is no regulation of recycled products and no uniform labelling. Recognition of recycled wood products is poor, and many people would not be able to name any. I am sceptical that people are prepared to pay a premium for ‘green’ products. There are two alternatives for marketing, to promote recycled products and educate the public to buy recycled, or to make and sell quality products, forgetting that they are waste based. I believe we should market products on their merits and be competitive. However, I do think that the enforcement of green procurement policies amongst government departments and local authorities could have a significant impact. If this were to happen, it would currently be difficult to establish the recycled content of many products, particularly those that are composites of various materials. Accurate labelling of recycled products is therefore an important and challenging step.

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Supply of wood waste is another key issue. Supplies of clean material, for example packaging waste, are limited and will soon be fully utilized. It can therefore be expected that good clean waste wood will soon be a commodity that companies will pay to purchase, rather than the current situation of the producer paying to have it taken away. This is an inevitable evolution as the industry matures. Future expansion in wood recycling will have to use poorer quality waste wood. There will need to be considerable capital expenditure on cleaning the material. We should also be gearing up to deal with the increased volumes of waste wood that will be put into the recycling stream as the landfill tax continues to rise; much of it is likely to be poor quality material. Many large, national retail chains are looking for a one-stop solution to their wood waste problem, rather than having many contracts with different firms throughout the country. There is a significant opportunity for recycling companies to work together to provide such a solution. One of the key issues in wood recycling is the over-dependence on one market for waste wood, the chipboard mills (which currently account for over 90% of recycled wood). The price for woodchip delivered to a chipboard mill is relatively low and is subject to fluctuation. Periodic restrictions on mill intake and the lack of written contracts between suppliers and the mills adds to the uncertainty and can cause problems for recycling operations. On top of this, the Packaging Recovery Note value largely goes to the mills, as the end user of the material, rather than the reprocessors. However, there is no reason why chipboard mill suppliers should not aim to negotiate contract commitments with the mills. Such commitments are available to the suppliers in the paper sector, where raw materials are not dissimilar, and there is no reason why this security should not be offered to suppliers to the chipboard mills. Aside from the chipboard market, there is a range of recycled products that can provide added value. These include coloured mulches, fuel pellets, wood/plastic composites and pre-formed products. About 60,000 m³ of coloured mulches are produced each year. Fuel pellets are produced by two companies in the UK. Production is currently 20,000 tonnes a year though this is far below the 250,000 tonnes a year that the major power generators would need. Wood/plastic composites are produced by one company in the UK. They contain 50% recycled wood and 50% plastic and can be used in the decking market. About 15,000 tonnes are produced each year but the decking market in the UK is huge. The profit per tonne on added value products can be five times that of chipboard, even taking into account the higher production costs. However success in these areas will only happen with skills in marketing and sales. Any company considering diversification into these other products should consider where their skills lie, and whether they are more suited to producing value added products, or supplying a raw material. Raw material for a bulk market is a low value product and requires a highly efficient production unit, focused on volume throughput. Producing a product to sell to the customer gives added value but requires a focus on quality and marketing, which is not suited to everyone. The timber recycling industry is still young, the oldest coloured woodchip company was established in the UK in 1993. It is important that people work together to ensure a profitable future for recycling, to influence legislation, attract grants and attract new markets. Companies are not alone, there are a number of sources of help (Table 2) that should be utilized.

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Table 2. Sources of information and advice on wood recycling

Fauna & Flora International www.globaltrees.org Wood Recycling Association www.woodrecyclers.sagenet.co.uk TIMCON www.timcon.org Community Recycling Network www.crn.org.uk WRAP www.wrap.org.uk Composting Association www.compost.org.uk Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee www.larac.org.uk ENTRUST www.entrust.org.uk Timber Recycling Information Centre www.recycle-it.org Urban Harvest Ltd Tel. 01388 529130

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http://www.globaltrees.org

http://www.woodrecyclers.sagenet.co.uk

http://www.timcon.org

http://www.crn.org.uk

http://www.wrap.org.uk

http://www.compost.org.uk

http://www.larac.org.uk

http://www.entrust.org.uk

http://www.recycle-it.org

KEY ISSUES

During the four workshops a number of key issues were highlighted as being of importance to timber recycling in the UK. These are outlined below.

• The waste hierarchy In considering the options for waste timber, it is important to stress that reuse is more beneficial than recycling. There were concerns that the increased use of recycled timber by the panelboard industry was prompting some people to chip timber, or timber items such as pallets, that could be used again. Opinions vary over the benefits of using waste timber as a fuel, but there are concerns that increasing such use will reduce investment in recycling.

• Lack of information There is a general lack of information on the amount of wood waste

generated, re-used or recycled (the exception being wood that is used in the panelboard industry, where accurate figures are available). What data there are frequently come in the form of non-standard units such as bags, bins or skips. There has also been a lack of information about wood recycling facilities and services, although both FFI and WRAP are now addressing this through their respective web-sites (www.globaltrees.org and www.wrap.org.uk )

• Logistics of collection Many sources of waste timber produce relatively small volumes (e.g.

small furniture makers) and this creates logistical problems in collection. Space to store waste wood separately can also be an issue in many situations, from furniture makers to Civic Amenity sites.

• Contamination Contamination in the waste wood supply was repeatedly raised as a key issue

by recyclers. Contamination varies from preservatives such as creosote on the timber, to nails and other metalwork that can potentially damage recycling machinery. Rigorous sorting at source is the best way to tackle contamination, and there is a need for further education and awareness on this issue, particularly amongst waste timber producers.

• Packaging Recovery Notes (PRNs) In the majority of cases, Packaging Recovery Notes

generated by the Packaging Directive go to the end user of the recycled wood e.g. the chipboard mills, rather than the timber recycling companies. This is limiting the financial viability of timber recycling operations.

• Restricted markets There are currently limited markets for recycled timber and a huge over-

dependence on one market, chipboard. The financial value of material going in to the chipboard market is low. Developing other markets for waste wood that can provide added value is vital. For example, the use of recycled material for chicken and turkey litter is potentially very lucrative, there is a large market for compost and there is room for expansion in the coloured mulch sector. Some believe that the issue is not a lack of markets but a lack of marketing.

• Public perceptions Recycled products may have a bad image in the market place, people

believing them to be poor quality. Many people feel that recycled products should be cheaper than those made from “virgin” materials, because they are made from waste.

• Labelling There is currently no controlled system of labelling for recycled products. It is thus

difficult to identify the recycled content of many products, creating problems for those who run green procurement policies. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is working on a system that will allow the certification and labelling of products containing up to 100% recycled or reclaimed/rediscovered material.

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http://www.wrap.org.uk/

• Supply and demand for reclaimed wood It is difficult to guarantee the availability of the required specification of reclaimed timber, in the right place at the right time.

• Material specifications for building The use of reclaimed timber in building projects is often

limited by the requirement for materials to meet certain specifications. This can be difficult for reclaimed timber, and alternative systems need to be developed to allow an expansion in the use of reclaimed wood.

• Demolition industry Significant quantities of timber from the demolition of old buildings is

sent to landfill and there is the potential to recover more of this material. Demolition is highly mechanized and reclaiming or recycling materials is inevitably slower and more labour intensive. There is also a concern that timber from demolition may be contaminated with preservatives and in some cases companies refuse to accept material from the demolition sector.

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DELEGATES LIST Chris Adair Plymouth Timber Recycling Project Embankment Lane Prirce Rock Plymouth PL4 9LQ Tel: 01752 265116 John Adams JLA Recycling Tir Canol Landfill Palleg Road Lower Cwmturch Swansea Tel: 01639 845839 Fax: 01639 841353 E-mail: [email protected] Lynn Arnold Environment Agency Cobham Road Ipswich Suffolk IP3 9JE Tel: 01473 706761 Kate Aydin Oxfordshire County Council Waste Management OCC Speedwell House Speedwell Street Oxford OX1 1NE Tel: 07977 468614 E-mail: [email protected] Peter G. Baker-Brall PJ Skip Hire Cophall Wood Hailsham Road Polegate East Sussex Tel: 01323 488888 Fax: 01323 488139 Mark Bartholomew Calders & Grandidge 194 London Road Boston Lincs PE21 7HJ Tel: 01205 358866 Fax: 01205 312400 E-mail: [email protected] Julian Baxter Horwich Castings Ltd. Chorley New Road Horwich nr. Bolton BL6 5NJ Tel: 01204 674516 Fax: 01204 695492 E-mail: [email protected] Toby Beadle Urban Harvest Ltd.

Featherstones Tunstall Wolsingham Co. Durham DL13 3LX Tel: 01388 529130 E-mail: [email protected] Richard Beer WH Tolley & Son Ltd. Caddy Well Torilgtan North Devon EX38 7EL Tel: 01805 622315 Fax: 01805 624702 Andrew Bird Stoke-on-Trent City Council Department of Environment & Transport Waste Management Group Cromer Road Northwood Stoke-on-Trent ST1 6QN Tel 01782 236685 E-mail: [email protected] David Blackburn Dorset County Council Environmental Services Waste Mangement County Hall Dorchester DT1 1XJ Tel: 01305 224959 Fax: 01305 224961 E-mail: [email protected] John Blackburn Oxford Wood Recycling Project Reeves Cottage Shipton Slade Farm nr. Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1QQ Tel: 01865 251946 Robert Blumsom C. Blumsom Ltd. 36-38 River Road Barking Essex IG11 0DN Tel: 0208 5945175 Fax: 0208 5941089 E-mail: [email protected] Tony Bomber Director Industrial Research and InTel:lectual Property Anglia Polytechnic University East Road Cambridge CB1 1PT Tel: 01223 363271 ext 2325 E-mail: [email protected]

Martin Bond Hambrook Pallets Ltd. Iron Church Road off St.Andrews Road Avonmouth Bristol BS11 9AF Tel: 0117 982 1236 E-mail: [email protected] Peter Bramhall Development Support Manager Cleanaway Ltd. Ferry Lane Rainham Essex RM13 9DA E-mail: [email protected] Alan Brodie 19 Russell Avenue Bedford NK40 3TD Tel: 01234 266659 E-mail: [email protected] Phil Brook Birmingham City Council Environmental & Consumer Services Dept. Montage Street Birmingham B9 4BA Tel: 0121 3031935 Fax: 0121 3031955 E-mail: [email protected] Greg Butler The Firs Kings Nympton Umberleigh Devon EX37 9ST Tel: 01769 581579 James Cartledge Letsrecycle.com 154 Buckingham Palace Road London SW1W 9TR Tel: 0207 8234666 Fax: 0207 8234111 E-mail: [email protected] Rob Chaddock Waste Recycling Group Barton House Darland Lane Lavister Wrexham L12 0EL Tel: 01244 572500 E-mail: [email protected]

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Nick Cliffe Forest Stewardship Council UK Unit D Station Building Llanidloes SY18 6EB Tel: 01686 413916 Fax: 01686 412176 E-mail: [email protected] Peter Clothier Wirral Bigs Stuff University of Liverpool Vanguard Way Birkenhead Merseyside CH41 9HX Tel: 0151 6502275 E-mail: [email protected] Paul Cobban TRIM – Timber Recycling in Manchester Flat 204, 41 Old Birley Street Hulme Manchester M15 5RE Tel: 0161 2279068 Amanda Cooper 39 Thayers Farm Road Beckenham BR3 4LY Tel: 0208 6503967 E-mail: [email protected] Victoria Cormie Leicestershire County Council County Hall Glenfield Leicester LE3 8RJ Andrew Corry Tracey Timber Recycling 49 Burnbrae Road Linwood PA3 3BD Tel: 01505 333515 E-mail: [email protected] Alan Corson Forest Enterprise 9 Clifton Moor Business Village James Nicholson Link Clifton Moor York WO30 4XG Tel: 07788 917157 E-mail: [email protected] Richard Coulson Kronospan Ltd. Chirk Wrexham LL14 5NT Tel: 01691 775383 Fax: 01691 776569 E-mail: [email protected]

Linda Cracknell Old Time Timber The Dutch Barn Lodge Farm Chiltern Street nr. Clare Suffolk Tel: 01787 277390 Fax: 01787 278669 Mr A. Creecy Hertfordshire County Council Waste Management Unit County Hall Pegs Lane Hertford SG13 8DN Tel: 01992 556165 Fax: 01992 556180 Tim Cumine Soundwood Consultant Fauna & Flora International Great Eastern House Tenison Road Cambridge CB1 2TT Tel: 01223 571000 Fax: 01223 461481 E-mail: [email protected] Angie Dailey Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Elm Tree Court Devizes SN10 1NJ Tel: 01380 725670 Fax: 01380 729017 E-mail: [email protected] Trelawney Damprey Eco-composting Chapel Lane Parley Christchurch BH23 6BG E-mail: [email protected] Mark Darwin B-Trac Equipment 45-51 Rixon Road Wellingborough Northamptonshire NN8 4BA Tel: 01933 274400 Fax: 01933 274403 E-mail: [email protected] Fay Dashper Oxfordshire County Council Waste Management OCC Speedwell House Speedwell Street Oxford OX1 1NE Tel: 07713 680561 E-mail: [email protected]

Brian Daughtrey Cheltenham Borough Council Swindon Road Depot Swindon Road Cheltenham GL51 9JZ Tel: 01242 772625 Fax: 01242 264338 E-mail: [email protected] Paul Davidson Crofton Pallets Ltd. Glege Road St. Peters Hill Industrail Estate Huntingdon Cambridgeshire PE29 7DX Tel: 01480 450777 Fax: 01480 453044 E-mail: [email protected] Phil Dawber Timbmet Rochdale Ltd. The Klondike Chichester Street Rochdale IL16 2AU Tel: 01706 863800 Fax: 01706 750684 Gill Dillon Northampton Borough Council Westbridge Dept. St. James Mill Road Northampton NN5 5JW Tel: 01604 838981 Fax: 01604 838941 E-mail: [email protected] Deidre Dudley-Owen Norfolk County Council County Hall Martineau Lane Norwich NR1 2SG Tel: 01603 222259 Fax: 01603 222350 Paul Duke Axiom Displays Ltd. Mersey Road North Failsworth Manchester Tel: 0161 6811371 Fax: 0161 6834641 E-mail: [email protected] Cath Duncan TRUA – Timber Reuse Association 21 Lime Street Nether Stowey Bridgwater TA5 1NQ Tel: 01278 732799 E-mail: [email protected]

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mailto:manda@coopsand











Tim Dyson Timbergen Ltd. Unit 25, Hayes Trading Estate Folkes Road Lye Stoubridge DY9 8RG Tel: 01384 424332 Fax: 01384 424330 E-mail: [email protected] Dr Harry Earl Sonae UK Ltd. Moss Lane Knowsley Industrial Park Merseyside L33 7XQ Tel: 0151 545 4078 E-mail: [email protected] Barrie Edwards Crendon Timber Engineering Ltd. Drakes Drive Long Crendon Aylesbury HP18 9BA Tel: 01844 203805 Fax: 01844 201450 E-mail: [email protected] Mary Edwards Friends of the Earth Eastern Region 4 Glisson Road Cambridge CB1 2HD Tel: 01223 516551 Fax: 01223 516550 Sarah Elliot Warwickshire County Council PO Box 43 Shire Hall Warwick Warwickshire CV34 4SX Tel: 01926 418088 Fax: 01926 418057 E-mail: [email protected] Peter Feakes Timbmet Ltd. PO Box 39 Chawley Works Cumonor Hill Oxford OX2 9PP Tel: 01865 862223 Fax: 01865 860349 E-mail: [email protected] David Fearnley Horwich Castings Ltd. Chorley New Road Horwich nr Bolton BL6 5NJ

Malcolm Filsell Fuelsell Willow Farm Thorpe-next-Haddiscoe Norwich Norfolk Tel: 01508 548278 Fax: 01508 548278 Stephen Filsell Fuelsell Willow Farm Thorpe-next-Haddiscoe Norwich Norfolk Tel: 01508 548278 Fax: 01508 548278 LP Fleckney Larner Recycling Lewes Works Jute Lane Enfield EN3 7PJ Tel: 0208 8041494 Fax: 0208 8041164 Glenn Fleet Warwickshire County Council PO Box 43 Shire Hall Warwick Warwickshire CV34 4SX Tel: 01926 412961 Fax: 0121 418057 E-mail: [email protected] Phil Foggitt Otter Rotters 2 Bridge Cottages Fenton Devon EX14 3BR Tel: 01404 851048 E-mail: [email protected] Alex Forrest Clean Merseyside Centre 36b The Colnnades Albert Dock Liverpool Merseyside L3 4AA Tel: 0151 7089533 Fax: 0151 7072491 E-mail: [email protected] Guy Foskett GR Green Little Springs Cottage Lower Ufford Woodbridge Suffolk IP13 6DZ Tel: 01394 461399 Fax: 01394 461250

Tom Fourcade WRAP - Waste and Resources Action Programme The Old Academy 21 Horse Fair Banbury Oxon OX16 0AH Tel: 01295 819900 Fax: 01295 819911 E-mail: [email protected] Richard Gentry Westside Joinery Unit 5 Gills Hill Bourn Cambridge CB3 7TS Tel: 01954 718959 Fax: 01954 718963 Rod Gifford West Bromwich Pallets Ltd. Enviromulch Brandon Way West Bromwich West Midlands B70 9PD Tel 0121 553 1910 Nick Glover Bywaters (Leyton) Ltd. Gateway Road Leyton London E10 5BY Tel: 0208 5581141 Fax: 0208 5585209 Dave Goddard Telford & Wrekin Services Ltd. Granville House St. Georges Road Donnington Wood Tel:ford TF2 7RA Tel: 01952 524323 Fax: 01952 619985 E-mail: [email protected] Tobin Gordon Ecosylva Ltd. Lower Pant-y-Goida Talycoed Lane, Lantilio Crossenny, Monmouthshire NP7 8TH Tel: 01600 780492 Fax: 0117 9252504 E-mail: [email protected] Steve Gould HMYOI Portland 104 Grove Road Portland Dorset DT5 1DL Tel: 01305 825733

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Hanna Gray Conservation Division Officer Fauna & Flora International Great Eastern House Tenison Road Cambridge CB1 2TT Tel: 01223 579335 Fax: 01223 461481 E-mail: [email protected] David Greenall Bolton Wise The Quest Centre Brownlow Way Bolton Manchester BL1 3UB Tel: 01204 39308 Fax: 01204 39398 E-mail: [email protected] Richard Hagan Crystal Doors PO Box 56 Hanson Street Middleton Manchester M24 2GS Tel: 0161 6540341 Fax: 0161 6540343 E-mail: [email protected] Nell Hamilton Assistant to Director of Conservation Fauna & Flora International Great Eastern House Tenison Road Cambridge CB1 2TT Tel: 01223 579489 Fax: 01223 461481 E-mail: [email protected] Rachel Harrex BRE Centre for Resource Management Bucknalls Lane Garston Watford WD25 9XX Tel: 01923 664427 Fax: 01923 664786 E-mail: [email protected] Paul Harrison East Lancashire Wood Recycling 99 Albion Street Burnley Lancs BB11 4JG Tel: 01282 437988 E-mail: [email protected]

Lea Hawkes South Herts Waste Management Houghton Road Dinnington Sheffield S25 4JJ Tel: 01909 569900 Fax: 01909 567152 E-mail: [email protected] Henrick Hauptmann TRIM – Timber Recycling in Manchester 26 Maureen Avenue Crumpsall Manchester M8 5AR Tel: 0161 7401064 E-mail: [email protected] Nat Healy Redditch Bourough Council Town Hall Alcester Road Redditch B98 8AH Tel: 01527 64252 Fax: 01527 534172 E-mail: [email protected] Jim Heppel Spitalfields Market Tenants Association Ltd. Office No6 Allen House 23 Sherrin Road Leyton E10 55Q Tel: 0208 5561479 Fax: 0208 5561033 Emma Hill Bradford Environmental Action Trust 140-148 Manningham Lane Bradford West Yorkshire BD8 7JL Tel: 01274 718420 E-mail: [email protected] Victoria Hockey Severn Waste Services 106 High Street Evesham Worcestershire WR11 4EL Tel: 01386 443376 Fax: 01386 446757 E-mail: [email protected] Chris Holliday Wastefile UK Radford House Stafford Park 7 Tel:ford TF3 3BQ Tel: 01952 292000 Fax: 01952 292692 E-mail: [email protected]

Stuart Howarth Hadfield Wood Recyclers Lumm Farm Lumb Lane Littlemoss Droylesden Manchester M43 7LB Tel 0161 370 2360 E-mail: [email protected] James Hurley Building Research Establishment Bucknalls Lane Garston Watford Herts WD25 9XX Tel: 01923 664675 Fax: 01923 664786 E-mail: [email protected] Craig Ibbetson 3 Chisholm Road Richmond Surrey TW10 6JH Tel: 020 83327503 E-mail: [email protected] Joe Irwin DW Archer (Travis Perkins) Kiln Brooke House Rose Kiln Lane Reading Berkshire RG2 0HL Tel: 01189 311663 Camila Iturra Global Programmes Assistant Fauna & Flora International Great Eastern House Tenison Road Cambridge CB1 2TT Tel: 01223 579474 Fax: 01223 461481 E-mail: [email protected] Guy Jackson Taylor Woodrow Construction 41, Clarendon Rd Watford WD17 1TR E-mail: [email protected] John Jardine County Mulch Ltd. The Watering Farm Creeting St. Mary Ipswich IP6 8ND Tel: 01449 721729 E-mail: [email protected]

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Simon Larner KAW Recycling & Waste Management Ltd. Essex Regiment Way Chelmsford Essex CM3 3PZ Tel: 01245 440621 Fax: 01245 442212 Oliver Latter Boomeco The Coach House Silver Street Tetbury Gloucestershire GL8 8DL Tel: 01666 503084 Fax: 01666 500489 E-mail: [email protected] Andrea Law Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Environment Health & Housing Council Waste Management PO Box 257 College Road Doncaster Tel: 01302 734974 Fax: 01302 738084 E-mail: [email protected] John Lawson Wakefield Metropolitan District Council Public Services Dept Waste Services Denby Dale Road Wakefield West Yorkshire WF2 7AH Tel: 01924 302349 Fax: 01924 302347 E-mail: [email protected] Gary Lee Viridor Waste Management 2 The Square Matlesham Heath Ipswich Suffolk IP5 3SL Tel: 01473 620110 Fax: 01473 620114 Sophie Lee West Sussex County Council County Hall Chichester West Sussex PO19 1RE Tel: 01243 777459 Fax: 01243 777553 E-mail: [email protected]

Peter Lewis HLC (Wood Products) Ltd. High Road Needham Harleston Norfolk IP20 9LB Tel: 01379 852873 Fax: 01379 852761 Ryan Lewis HLC (Wood Products) Ltd. High Road Needham Harleston Norfolk IP20 9LB Tel: 01379 852873 Fax: 01379 852761 E-mail: [email protected] Craig Liddell MERCI Bridge – 5 Mill 22a Beswick Street Ancoats Manchester M4 7HR Tel: 0161 2734643 Fax: 0161 2744598 E-mail: [email protected] Cathi Lillis-James Buried Treasure Ltd. The Park Daventry Road Bristol BS4 1QD Tel: 0117 903 9782 E-mail: [email protected] Claire Lipop Broadland District Council Thorpe Lodge Yarmouth Road Thorpe Street Norwich NR7 ODU Tel: 01603 430607 Fax: 01603 701859 E-mail: [email protected] Don Lovelock Ridgeons Ltd. Ashdown Road Saffron Walden Essex Tel: 01799 583041 Fax: 01799 583039 E-mail: [email protected]

Simon Lupson Woodwaste Services Ltd. Texmore Building Radlett Road Colney Street Village St. Albans AL2 2EN Tel: 01923 855517 Fax: 01923 855304 E-mail: [email protected] Georgina Magin Wood Waste Project Manager Fauna & Flora International Great Eastern House Tenison Road Cambridge CB1 2TT Tel: 01223 579475 Fax: 01223 461481 E-mail: [email protected] Brian Mahony Forest Enterprise 340 Bristol Business Park Coldharbour Lane Bristol BS16 1EJ Tel: 0117 906 6016 Fax: 0117 931 2859 E-mail: [email protected] Barrie Marshall Huntingdon Recycling Woodhatch Farm Thrapston Road Ellington Huntingdon Cambridgeshire PE28 0AE Tel: 01480 810431 Roy Martin Bywaters Leyton Ltd. Gateway Road Leyton London E10 5BY Tel: 0208 5581141 Fax: 0208 5585209 Paul Mathew Global Trees Campaign Projects Manager Fauna & Flora International Great Eastern House Tenison Road Cambridge CB1 2TT Tel: 01223 571000 Fax: 01223 461481 E-mail: [email protected]

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Gareth Mayhead The Mersey Forest The Mersey Forest Offices Risley Moss Ordnance Avenue Birchwood Warrington WA3 6QX Tel: 01925 816217 E-mail: [email protected] Hugh McCoach Caledonian Shanks Centre Drummond House (3rd Floor) 1 Hill Street Glasgow G3 6RN Tel: 0141 5820450 Fax: 0141 5820451 E-mail: [email protected] Mr McEwan Larner Recycling Lewes Works Jute Lane Enfield EN3 7PJ Tel: 0208 8041494 Fax: 0208 8041164 Terry McSweeney Docherty Waste Kiln Cottage 14 Main Street Bourton Dunsmore nr. Rugby CU23 9QS Richard Mehmed Brighton and Hove Wood Recycling Project Units 32-36 Municipal Market Circus Street Brighton BN2 9QF Tel: 01273 570600 E-mail: [email protected] Simon Mickleburgh Senior Conservation Researcher Fauna & Flora International Great Eastern House Tenison Road Cambridge CB1 2TT Tel: 01223 579477 Fax: 01223 461481 E-mail: [email protected] Graham Miller Greater Manchester Waste PO Box 151, High Swann Lane Bolton BL3 3WW Tel: 01204 854236 Fax: 0161 4946155

A.R. Milner-Moore Castlewood Holdings The Sawmill Wix Manningtree Essex CO11 2RS Tel: 01255 870881 C.R. Milner-Moore Castlewood Holdings The Sawmill Wix Manningtree Essex CO11 2RS Tel: 01255 870881 Greg Milton Northern Case Suppliers Ltd. Birkenhead Road Merseyside Tel: 0151 6662600 Shawn Mitchell Theaker Reycling Ltd. 42 Sheepbridge Lane Mansfield Notts NG18 5DH Tel: 01623 427277 Fax: 01623 429188 E-mail: [email protected] Steve Mitchell TUO Ltd. James Road Tyseley Birmingham B11 2BA Tel: 0121 680 2000 Fax: 0121 680 2051 E-mail: [email protected] Gary Moore GM Haulage Ltd. Manor Road Kempston Hardwick Bedfordshire MK43 9NT Tel: 01234 851731 William Morgan Just Wood Hadrian Road Wallsend Newcastle upon Tyne NE28 6UA Tel: 0191 2622663 Fax: 0191 2622885 E-mail: [email protected]

Gordon Morris Marlow and Co Ltd. Marlow House Hollow Road Bury St. Edmunds Suffolk IP32 7AP Tel: 01284 772700 Liz Morrish WRAP - Waste and Resources Action Programme The Old Academy 21 Horse Fair Banbury Oxon OX16 0AH Tel: 01295 819900 Fax: 01295 819911 E-mail: [email protected] Tony Mulligan Jewsons Ltd. Merchant House Binley Business Park Coventry West Midlands CV3 2TT Tel: 07730 420571 Fax: 07643 428505 E-mail: [email protected] Dave Newell Norfolk Environmental Waste Services Ltd. 51 Norwich Road Horsham St. Faith Norwich NR10 3HH Tel: 01603 891892 Fax: 01603 891273 E-mail: [email protected] Sara Oldfield Director Global Programmes Fauna & Flora International Great Eastern House Tenison Road Cambridge CB1 2TT Tel: 01223 571000 Fax: 01223 461481 E-mail: [email protected] Ches Orme Plastics Reclamation Ltd. Bold Industrial Park Neills Road Bold St. Helens Merseyside Tel: 01744 810001 Fax: 01744 810626 E-mail: [email protected]

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Derek Palmer Clark & Kemp Joinery Ltd. Units 8-10 Baddow Park Estate West Hanningfield Road CM2 7SY Tel: 01245 476667 Fax: 01245 474857 E-mail: [email protected] Richard Parkinson Surrey County Council Room 356 County Hall Penrhyn Road Kingston-upon-Thames KT1 2DY Tel: 0208 5419391 Fax: 0208 5419447 E-mail: [email protected] Terry Parry Track 2000 Resource House Penarth Road Cardiff CF11 6NG Tel: 02920 332533 Fax: 02920 332539 C. Parsons-Young Hemmings Waste Management 10 Cole Road St. Phillips Bristol BS2 0UG Tel: 0117 9717000 Fax: 0117 9717248 Vanessa Picton Marshall Aerospace The Airport Newmarket Road Cambridge CB5 8RX Keith Pirrie Pine Product Ltd. Hope Carr Ltd. Leigh Lancashire WN7 3DE Tel: 01942 261184 Fax: 01942 260734 E-mail: [email protected] Mr R Platt RA & CE Platt Ltd. Miners Park Miners Road Llay Ind. Estate ‘North’ Llay Wrexham Tel: 01978 854666 Fax: 01978 854664 E-mail: [email protected]

John Poole TRIM – Timber Recycling in Manchester Flat 204, 41 Old Birley Street Hulme Manchester M15 5RE Tel: 0161 2279068 E-mail: [email protected] James Potter Onyx Hampshire Ltd. Poles Lane Otterbourne Winchester Hants SO21 2EA Tel: 01962 764049 Fax: 01962 715693 E-mail: [email protected] Brigid Preston Waste Strategy Division DEFRA 7/E14 Ashdown House 123 Victoria Street London SW1E 6DE Tel: 0207 9448122 E-mail: [email protected] Eve Richards Environment Agency Kingfisher House Orton Peterborough PE2 5ZR Tel: 01733 464417 Fax: 01733464438 E-mail: [email protected] Jason Ripley H. Ripley & Co Apex Way Hailsham East Sussex BN27 3WA Tel: 01323 440672 Fax: 01323 841282 Mobile: 07703 504701 E-mail: [email protected] Arnold Robinson IQR ‘Bankside’ Birchwood Gardens Brafferton Cum Helperby York YO16 2QN Tel: 01423 360199 Fax: 01423 360198 E-mail: [email protected]

Paul Robinson Vines Centre Trust Vineswood House Limehouse Wharf Gas House Road Rochester Kent ME1 1PN Tel: 01634 406245 E-mail: [email protected] Tim Robinson Palmer Timber Ltd. Granville Works Station Road Cradley Heath West Midlands B64 6PW Tel: 0121 5595511 Fax: 0121 5614562 Meril Robson Ecosylva Ltd. Lower Pant-y-Gioda Talycoed Lane Llantilio Crossenny Monmouthshire NP7 8TH Tel: 0117 3735205 Len Savill ASAP Hire Brook Farm Earith Road Colne Huntingdon Tel: 01487 841433 Fax: 01487 740650 Julian Scholfield Shropshire County Council Waste Management Unit Shire Hall Abbey Foregate Road Shrewsbury SY2 6ND Tel: 01743 253016 Fax: 01743 253038 Bruce Scott TRUA – Timber Reuse Association 8 Severn Terrace Watchet Somerset TA23 0AS Tel: 01984 634242 Fax: 01984 634242 E-mail: [email protected] Claire Scott Groundwork Blackburn Nova Scotia Wharf Bolton Road Blackburn BB2 3GE Tel: 01254 669030 Fax: 01254 682288 E-mail: [email protected]

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Steven Sellars Kendall Machinery UK Ltd. Unit 6 Ham Lane Farm Ham Lane Slaynes Hill RH17 7PR Tel: 01444 831008 Fax: 01444 831027 E-mail: [email protected] Stuart Shee Kendall Machinery UK Ltd. Unit 6 Ham Lane Farm Ham Lane Slaynes Hill RH17 7PR Tel: 01444 831008 Fax: 01444 831027 E-mail: [email protected] Mark Shelton Recycling Officer Cambridgeshire County Council Shire Hall Castle Hill Cambridge CB3 0AP Tel: 01223 717100 Fax: 01223 717103 E-mail: [email protected] Trevor Smart Waste Recycling Group Sutton Courtenay Offices Appleford Sidings Abingdon OX14 4PW Tel: 01235 847272 Fax: 01235 848779 E-mail: [email protected] Jo Smith Warrington Borough Council Environment Dept Palmyra House Palmyra Square (North) Warrington WA1 1JN Tel: 01925 444400 Fax: 01925 443255 E-mail: [email protected] Ellen Spruce States of Guernsey Board of Administration, Sir Charles Frossard House La Charroterie St. Peter Port Tel: 01481 717000 Fax: 01481 725887 E-mail: [email protected]

Jenny Steward Red Rose Forest Dock Office Trafford Road Salford Quays Manchester M50 3XB Tel: 0161 8721660 E-mail: team@redroseforest Bob Suffors Castle Carpentry & Maintenance Ltd. 202 Bradford Road Castle Bromwich Birmingham B36 9AA Tel: 0121 2422255 Fax: 0121 2422254 E-mail: [email protected] Peter Taylor The Bristol Port Company St. Andrews House St. Andrews Road Avonmouth Bristol Tel: 0117 9820000 Fax: 0117 9825242 E-mail: [email protected] Bruce Thomson JBJ Pallets Ltd. Mushroom Farm Hedingham Road Wethersfield Braintree Essex CM7 4EQ Tel: 01371 850035 Fax: 01371 850420 Trevor Thorogood Thorogood Timber Plc Colchester Road Ardleigh Colchester Essex Tel: 01206 233100 Fax: 01206 233115 E-mail: [email protected] Mike Thorpe Environment Agency Appleton House 430 Birchwood Boulevard Birchwood Warrington WA3 7WD Tel: 01925 840000 John Thurtkettle Alexandra PLC 71 Howe Circle Newport Gwent NP19 9GP

Kerry Todd Northants County Council PO Box 163 County Hall Northampton NN1 1AX Tel: 01604 237277 01604 237331 E-mail: [email protected] Julian Tolley WH Tolley & Son Ltd. Caddy Well Torrington North Devon EX38 7EL Tel: 01805 622315 Fax: 01805 624702 Anne Tuckley Borough of Telford & Wrekin Derby House PO Box 212 Lawn Central Tel:ford TS3 4LB Tel: 01952 202214 Fax: 01952 293204 E-mail: anne.tuckley@Tel:ford.gov.uk Mick Tyrrell Northampton Borough Council Westbridge Depot St. James Mill Road Northampton NN5 5JW Tel: 01604 838847 Fax: 01604 838941 E-mail: [email protected] Andy Urquhart The Urban Timber Initiative ADAS 16 Eastway BusinessVillage Olivers Place Fulwood Preston PR2 9WT Tel: 07831 559277 E-mail: [email protected] Matthew Viner Hemmings Waste Management 10 Cole Road St. Philips Bristol BS2 0UG Tel: 0117 9717000 Fax: 0117 9717248 E-mail: [email protected]

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IngeVon Senger University College Northampton Park Campus Boughton Green Road Northampton NN2 7AL Tel: 01604 735500 Fax: 01604 720636 E-mail: [email protected] Emily Walker County Environmental Services Ltd. United Downs St. Day Redruth Cornwall TR16 5HU Tel: 01209 821669 Fax: 01209 821761 E-mail: [email protected] Neil Walton Northern Case Suppliers Ltd. Birkenhead Road Merseyside Tel: 0151 6662600 E-mail: [email protected] Lorraine Watling WRAP - Waste and Resources Action Programme The Old Academy 21 Horse Fair Banbury Oxon OX16 0AH Tel: 01295 819900 Fax: 01295 819911 E-mail: [email protected] Mike Watson Meldreth Landscapes Ltd. Merdreth Business Centre Kneedsworth Road Meldreth Royston Herts SG8 6LN Tel: 01763 261150 M Whitaker Armstrong’s Environmental Services Ltd. Unit 27, Landscape Industrial Estate Bryn Wigan Tel: 01942 271600 Fax: 01942 271616 Bryn Williams Bath & NE Somerset Council Waste Services Keynsham Town Hall Keynsham Bristol BS31 1LA Tel: 01225 394204 Fax: 01225 395162 E-mail: [email protected]

John Williams Thurrock Workshop Ltd. 106 High Street Aveley Essex RM15 4BX Tel: 01708 862077 Fax: 01708 860454 E-mail: [email protected] Paul Williams Avon Plywood Ltd. Pixash Works Pixash Lane Keynsham Tel: 0117 9861383 Fax: 0117 9861725 E-mail: [email protected] Richard Williams Clark & Kemp Joinery Ltd. Units 8-10 Baddow Park Estate West Hanningfield Road CM2 7SY Tel: 01245 476667 Fax: 01245 474857 E-mail: [email protected] Steve Willis Hills Minerals & Waste Ltd. Purton Landfil Mopes Lane Purton Swindon Wilts SN5 9HG Tel: 01793 771759 Fax: 01793 772961 E-mail: [email protected] Bernadette Wilson Sonae UK Ltd. Moss Lane Knowsley Industrial Park Merseyside L33 7XQ Tel: 0151 545 4078 John Woodward Loxley Dismantling Co Ltd. London House Clifford Lister Business Centre Bawtry Road Wickersley Rotherham S66 2BL Tel: 01709 544236 Fax: 01709 730389 E-mail: [email protected]

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