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Figure1. Simplified cascade diagram for wood.
Some researchers have promoted the idea that there should be multiple passes through each tier of the cascade, for example, with structural timber being reused into engineered wood composites such as CLT and glulam before they pass onwards into the wood-based panels tier [65]. This is a good concept; however it is important to remember that probability functions apply at all tier levels. For example, in converting solid wood into glulam, there will be shavings and offcuts passing directly to the wood-based panels stage or incineration stage; even with the primary life of the timber, the log is split into planks and co-products (sawdust, shavings, and chips), which pass to other tiers directly. Thus, the cascade is a complex network rather than a linear waterfall (Figure 2).
Figure2. Simplified network of pathways for wood during recycling, reuse, and energy recovery.
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