Reclaimed wood is a highly demanded product as of now and is expected to continue to grow in popularity. A huge concern among many people as the population increases, is the need for wood building materials and what effects this change will have on our environment. With the increase in climate problems, people are motivated to do anything in their power to decrease the damage on our communities. A lot of work has gone into researching how to decrease the effects, whether that’s building with timber rather than concrete or steel, or recycling wood to decrease the waste.
In regard to construction and demolition, wood waste is the second largest component to consider, with concrete being the first. Wood waste contributes to about 20 to 30 percent of construction and demolition. At the end of the day, wood accounts for about 10 percent of the materials filling landfills.
The overall concern that has been made clear by those who observe the rate of recycling for construction and demolition, is that derived wood is much lower than other materials such as concrete and steel on job sites. The rate of concrete recycling sits at about 82 percent with steel sitting at 98 percent. All the while, the rate of reusing wood is much less.
As of 2010, most of the urban wood waste was created in the United States and amounts to about 70.6 million tons. Over several years ago, the Construction Materials Recycling Association estimated that more than 29 million tons of waste was available for recovery when it comes combustion, recovery, and unusable material. While a specific number is available, CMRA noted that there has been a huge increase in recycling activity since 2010.
Construction and demolition wood waste’s total generation is estimated to be at 36.4 million tons. Over 29.7 million tons will be taken up from demolition and construction at 6.7 million tons. According to studies done, about 15 percent of wood used in new construction builds ends up being recycled and in the line of waste.
Unfortunately, some recovery efforts for recycling wood have been shut down due to chemical treatments used on the woods. Certain woods, once they are chemically treated, are not at the standard to be recycled due to the effects that the chemicals can have on us. As of right now, there are 17.3 million tons of wood waste per year that can be reused.
Wood is typically taken from the construction and demolition sites and is taken to recycling mills to be put through a recycling process to be resold and reused. All the reclaimed wood that is taken from construction and demolition sites is sorted through first before being taken to the recycling mill and resold to be used as reclaimed wood. This shortens the processing time and makes the mill’s job much easier when it comes to making the wood ready for resale.
The recovery of reclaimed wood is growing in high demand as the want for reclaimed lumber grows higher. Reclaimed wood is a product that is highly used with homeowners and designers. The idea of using recycled wood is very appealing to most people because you are not only helping with deforestation and filling up the landfills, but you are also giving a past a present by bringing in a piece of history and implementing it into your home.
Like we have mentioned in many other articles and blogs, you can use reclaimed wood for a wide variety of different things inside and outside of your home. You can use recycled wood as flooring, paneling, accent pieces, furniture and DIY projects. Another way that reclaimed wood can be used but is not usually thought of is for rebuilding old and new structures. Because reclaimed wood is so durable and was once used for the purpose of structure, it is a very sturdy material to use in a rebuild. Not to mention it is very appealing with a rustic and whitewashed surface. No piece of reclaimed wood is the same, which makes your specific project unique. If you want to make a mark on the world, consider using recycled wood rather than new wood in your next project or rebuild. Give us a call if you are interested in using any reclaimed wood!
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