Review Developments in the Recycling of Wood and Wood Fibre in the UK: A Review
Morwenna J. Spear * , Athanasios Dimitriou , Simon F. Curling and Graham A. Ormondroyd
BioComposites Centre, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK; a.dimitriou@bangor.ac.uk (A.D.); s.curling@bangor.ac.uk (S.F.C.); g.ormondroyd@bangor.ac.uk (G.A.O.) * Correspondence: m.j.spear@bangor.ac.uk
Abstract: There is great interest in using bio-based materials to reduce the climate impact of materials. Similarly, there is an increased focus on the circular economy and recycling of materials to increase material efficiency and reduce waste. In the case of wood waste, this provides a cluster of benefits but has led to a high demand for the reclaimed material. This review provides updates on several technologies where wood fibre recycling and products from recycled wood fibre are breaking into new markets, including wood fibre insulation products, wood plastic composites, oriented strand boards, and fibreboards. Emerging technologies, such as the ability to recycle medium-density fibreboards, in addition to the more commonly recycled solid wood or particleboard, will allow for a new set of options within the wood cascading chain. Looking ahead, there are likely to be advances in new composite products, as well as other feedstock materials derived from reclaimed wood, such as nanocellulose, pyrolysis oils, or wood polymers reclaimed from the wood feedstock. This review arose from an investigation into the wood recycling sector in the UK. So, the horizon scanning exercise presented here considers the needs and challenges that may arise, if the volume of recycled wood fibre can be increased, in an already highly active market. Such developments would permit an increase in the manufacture of new- generation long-service-life products to enhance carbon storage, and potentially a shift away from bioenergy generation.
Academic Editors: Pratheep Kumar Annamalai and Stuart G.Gordon Received: 31 December 2024 Revised: 3 February 2025 Accepted: 13 February 2025 Published: 15 February 2025
Keywords: waste wood; recycled wood; cascade; wood-based panels; wood composites; carbon storage
1. Introduction Wood has demonstrated circular economy principles for many years. Initially, post- industrial waste wood (shavings, chips, and sawdust) was used in wood-based panels by the early 1990s, with the recycling of post-consumer waste wood into panel products becoming more widely accepted during the 1990s [1–4]. More recently, options for recycling the wood-based panels themselves have been considered [5–7], and the range of sorting and cleaning technologies has increased [8]. There has also been a steady investigation of options for novel products derived from recycled wood. While early wood-based panels papers may confuse post-industrial waste wood with recycled wood from post-consumer or demolition origins, this is now such a standard practice that the use of industrial co- products as feedstock is no longer included within recycled wood statistics. Recycled wood has grown in prominence, with the FAO statistics for 2023 indicat- ing that Europe collects the greatest volume of post-consumer waste wood for recycling (76.8%), within which Germany (19.7%), France (15.6%), and the UK (11%) are the largest
Citation: Spear, M.J.; Dimitriou, A.; Curling, S.F.; Ormondroyd, G.A. Developments in the Recycling of Wood and Wood Fibre in the UK: AReview. Fibers 2025 , 13 , 23. https://doi.org/10.3390/ fib13020023 Copyright: © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/).
Fibers 2025 , 13 , 23
https://doi.org/10.3390/fib13020023
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