Reuse and Recycling | WWF Forest Solutions (2024)

A single piece of wood can be reused and recycled through a succession of different products, reducing the volume of virgin wood that needs to be harvested from forests. This, combined with clean manufacturing technologies and innovative product designs, can deliver low carbon products with less pressure on forests.

Nearly all types of solid wood can be reused. Wood can be salvaged from old buildings, bridges and wharfs and used again in modern décor, from furniture to flooring. Smaller, less valuable wood scraps can be collected and used to make particleboard and other composite products.

Similarly, paper can be recycled and reused many times, taking the pressure off of forests. In 2010, more than half the fibre – 53%– used in global paper production came from recovered paper, up from 43% in 2000. Even with higher global paper consumption in the future, we would need less virgin wood if we recycled more. Better sorting of waste, technological advances in recycled fibres, smart product design, enabling re-use and recycling, as well as responsible consumer choices can all contribute to making less resource-intensive products.

7 comments

JGA

John G. Aronson

14-Sep-2017 03:44 GMT

Re: Massive Recycling Effort
Would like to discuss our initial analysis of wood recycling of damaged housing, trees, and other wood waste in Houston and Florida. We are in contact with several large industrial entities for massive particle board production within a sustainability framework. Let me know with whom we can discuss.

JOHN G. Aronson, President
AATA International, Inc.

Emmanuelle

21-Mar-2016 15:11 GMT

How to scale up? Governments and cities have to put system - or better systems- in place: separate waste collection, for consumers but also small to large enterprises. General awareness needs to be raised. Companies can also put in place closed-loop system to recover their waste and directly re-use them, like packaging. Actually, there is no more waste, only ressources...

Julius Raomanyane

15-Mar-2016 13:15 GMT

Regulate destruction of forests through implementation of two pieces of forestry legislation - National Forest Act & National Forest Fire Act - that promote prevention of forest fires.

Paivi Salapakivi

15-Mar-2016 13:15 GMT

Improved resource efficiency - water, energy, raw materials and waste; new, innovative products compensating fossils

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