WOOD RECYCLING AND PROCESSING TRENDS

摘要

For several years, mulch producers and composting facilities have seen more competition for feedstocks from biomass power plants and wood pellet manufacturers. In some regions, locally generated wood waste was being processed for export markets as well. And then the construction market plummeted. Demand for lumber tanked, and with it went the availability of by-products such as sawdust and bark. Land clearing stopped in many regions, taking away that source of waste wood for recycling and composting as well. On a national level, there isn't a shortage of woody material. The challenge is how to access it economically. Biomass power plants' need for wood hasn't been a total negative to composters and mulch producers. The shifts in markets for waste wood also have led to shifts in wood processing equipment sales. The diminished supply of land clearing and cleaner construction-related wood streams also has led more wood recyclers to tap mixed construction and demolition debris streams.