The$Current$State$Of$Wood$Reuse
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! The$Current$State$of$Wood$Reuse$and$Recycling$ in$North$America$and$Recommendations$for$ Improvements$ ! Dovetail!Partners! May!2013! The Current State of Wood Reuse and Recycling in North America and Recommendations for Improvements Authors: Jeff Howe, Steve Bratkovich, Jim Bowyer, Matt Frank, Kathryn Fernholz Dovetail Partners May 2013 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE(SUMMARY(............................................................................................................(4( ! BACKGROUND(......................................................................................................................(14( ( STATUS(OF(WOOD(REUSE(&(RECYCLING:(DISCUSSION(...........................................................(17( It#All#Begins#in#the#Forest#.....................................................................................................................................................#17! Wood#Combustion#as#Component#of#Reuse#and#Recycling#....................................................................................#19! Wood#Products#Manufacturing#and#Utilization#.........................................................................................................#20! Tracking#PostHConsumer#Wood#Reuse#and#Recycling#.............................................................................................#22! Generation of Waste in Canada and the U.S. ........................................................................... 23 Status of Wood Recycling in Canada ........................................................................................ 23 Status of Solid Wood Waste Generation and Recovery in the United States: MSW and C&D ............................................................................................................................................. 25 Wood Recycling Provisions in North American Green Building Programs ......................... 29 Tracking Wood Consumption, Reuse and Recycling by Primary End Product ................... 32 Trends in Market Development For Reused and Recycled Wood ......................................... 33 Construction#and#Demolition#(C&D)#Waste#.................................................................................................................#33! Flooring#.......................................................................................................................................................................................#34! Timbers#.........................................................................................................................................................................................#34! Lumber#..........................................................................................................................................................................................#34! Railroad ties#...............................................................................................................................................................................#35! Furniture#......................................................................................................................................................................................#35! Pallets#...........................................................................................................................................................................................#35! Best Practices for C&D Wood Reuse and Recovery ................................................................ 36 Best Practices for MSW Wood Reuse and Recovery ............................................................... 38 Barriers and Opportunities for Increased Wood Recovery .................................................... 38 Thinking Creatively About the Industry’s Role in Wood Waste Minimization ................... 39 Keep#Waste#at#the#Manufacturer#.....................................................................................................................................#39! Advanced#Design#......................................................................................................................................................................#39! Rethink#OSB#manufacture#...................................................................................................................................................#40! Rethink#Lumber#Manufacture#............................................................................................................................................#40! Rethink#Manufacturing’s#Role#RE#PostHConsumer#Wood#Waste#........................................................................#40! Challenges Facing Wood Recovery Efforts in North America ............................................... 40 Geographical#Distribution#of#Industry#...........................................................................................................................#41! Diversity#of#Industry#...............................................................................................................................................................#41! Issues#Related#to#LongHlived#versus#ShortHlived#Products#......................................................................................#41! Conflict#Between#the#“Reduce”#versus#“Use#More#Wood”#Messaging#................................................................#42! ! Wood Reuse and Recycling in North America 2! Recommendations for Wood Reuse and Recycling in Canada and the U.S. ......................... 42 Big#Picture/Overarching#Themes#.....................................................................................................................................#42! Data#Collection—Ongoing#Research#..............................................................................................................................#43! Data#Collection—New#Research#.......................................................................................................................................#44! Education#....................................................................................................................................................................................#45! Market#Development#..............................................................................................................................................................#45! Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 47 APPENDICES Appendix A: Interviews with Industry, Government, Association, and Non-Profit Leaders ....................................................................................................................................................... 48 Appendix B: Utilization of Harvested Wood by the North American Forest Products Industry(...............................................................................................................................(55! Appendix C: Solid Wood Waste Generation and Recovery in the United States – MSW and C&D(....................................................................................................................................(76! Appendix D: An Examination of Wood Recycling Provisions in North American Green Building Programs(..............................................................................................................(87! Appendix E: Case Studies(.................................................................................................(110! Wood Recovery in Europe!...................................................................................................................................!111! San Diego - County and City C&D Recovery Ordinances!.......................................................................!115! C&D Waste Recycling in the City of Edmonton and Province of Alberta, Canada!........................!133! Fast-Track Deconstruction Initiatives (Seattle, WA and Vancouver, BC)!..........................................!139! North Carolina Wood Pallet Legislation!.........................................................................................................!146! Reclaimed Barnwood Goes Mainstream!.........................................................................................................!164! This report was prepared with support from: www.softwoodlumber.org! www.bcfii.ca www.fpl.fs.fed.us ! This institution is an equal opportunity provider. Dovetail Partners, 528 Hennepin Ave, Suite 703, Minneapolis, MN 55403 Tel: 612-333-0430 Fax: 612-333-0432 Email: [email protected]# www.dovetailinc.org# Wood Reuse and Recycling in North America 3! EXECUTIVE(SUMMARY( According to Neal deGrasse Tyson, we are “the stuff of stars”. Specifically, “the atoms of our bodies are traceable to the stars that manufactured them…we are biologically connected to every living thing in the world.”1 Therefore, we are also the stuff of trees, and they of us. This connection both simplifies the truth and complicates the story of wood reuse and recycling. The truth is that all wood is 100 percent recycled material. That is the nature of renewable materials. It’s in the definition. If you put trees in a closed environment, over time they will grow, live, die and re-grow again within that closed system; recycling themselves ad infinitum. The presence of other species, especially animals, aids this