ALTERNATIVE THINKING
GREENWASH OR SALES BENEFIT?
Wood’s environmental credentials are strong, yet so far are little used by merchants in marketing timber and wood-based products. We look at some of the latest products, developments and opportunities available.
Picture: Wood Protection Association
a good future category for builders’ merchants, according to Craig Colligan, National Sales Manager for Housing at Steico UK: “The products need to be understood if merchants wish to benefit from selling them, the same as with any other timber product. The humidity regulation aspect of wood fibre insulation helps with asthma. Damp, humid houses are breeding places for house dust mites and mould, both of which are asthma triggers. We have been insulating our homes with wood for many centuries: other types of insulation are comparatively recent introductions. If a house is being designed to feature wood throughout it makes sense to use wood fibre for the insulation as well.”
Picture: Steico UK T
he topics of healthy buildings and wellbeing are already being tapped into across the construction sector, connecting with consumers and their
needs. And no wonder, with an average of one in 10 people suffering from asthma these days, according to Allergy UK.
In the timber sector, future-gazers are going one further, and looking at the ‘circular economy’ movement as a way to enhance timber’s already sturdy green credentials, as Wood For Good’s Campaign Director Christiane Lellig explains: “To truly encompass the philosophy of the circular economy means a lot more than recycling wood fibre back into products. In Sweden, Lithuania and Switzerland for example, new business models for construction are available. Instead of buying a house or a school, for example, buildings can be leased. When the building is finished with, it is simply packed up and taken elsewhere to be re-used. In addition, some companies offer buy-back schemes to their clients. The test will be how many times a building can be re-used in different places and formats.” Looking at the potential of a circular economy at a more down-to-earth level is Craig Bartlett, Managing Director of MDF Recovery: “Around 10% of all the wood waste in the UK is estimated to be MDF,” he relates. “We are a technology business, selling
16 / May 2019
our method of recycling the various component materials of MDF back into sectors such as MDF manufacturing, insulation production and the waste recycling industries. It has taken a number of years to develop and patent our method but we feel it’s been well worthwhile. “There are over a million tonnes of MDF produced in the UK each year, and 40 years’ worth of material already in buildings and shops, which in future will need to be recycled. We will be announcing the first major application of our technology shortly,” Craig Bartlett adds. “Wood waste comes in for recycling mixed together with other wood types. Waste wood recyclers are already fed up with the amount of MDF coming into their waste streams which can’t easily be recycled.
“There is an opportunity to create value throughout the supply chain, right down to merchants and the joinery & building sectors, by segregating MDF waste and returning it for recycling,” Craig Bartlett states. “We have undertaken trials with contractors and also with a major UK retail chain, segregating their MDF waste from other wood, which proved that this can be viable. Wood fibre emerging from the MDF recycling process can, for example, be re- used in producing wood fibre insulation, which is beneficial in construction of healthy buildings.” Wood fibre insulation is gaining popularity with architects and specifiers, and could prove
Investigation into any potential health impact of using treated timber in the fabric of a building has already been confirmed as minimal through independent research undertaken by BRE for the Wood Protection Association (WPA). Some consumers have other concerns about treatments and external wood products. The WPA advises that pre-treated timber and sleepers, with the exception of creosote-treated, are suitable for vegetable beds, planters and compost heaps. Pre-treated to Use Class 4, the timber needs no further treatment during its service life, which should be a minimum of 15 years according to British Standard 8417. The preservatives used in timber pre-treatment plants are approved for use by the Health & Safety Executive. Evidence of the correct treatment having been applied can be found when buying wood treated under the WPA’s Benchmark quality scheme.
To increase knowledge on the wood and wellbeing agenda, TRADA has issued a new guide, entitled: ‘Timber and healthy buildings: indoor air quality’. Rupert Scott, TRADA’s Membership & Marketing Manager, comments: “The healthy buildings movement is organic and dynamic and is not going to go away. While it is a developing topic it’s something that merchants should at least be aware of.” TRADA also has interesting case studies online on the healthy buildings theme. “A particular case study features Sunbeam’s Music Centre in Penrith, a building designed to incorporate the health and wellbeing concept right from the start. The Centre provides a learning environment for children with special needs to experience music in a positive environment.”
David Hopkins, TTF Managing Director, summarises the opportunity: “Timber is already the merchant’s most profitable category. It therefore makes sense to increase your knowledge of wood’s role in wellbeing, so your business can continue bringing in a healthy profit on wood.”
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