Wood waste

Wood waste forms the largest proportion of organic waste in Switzerland at around 40 percent.

A distinction is made between four types of wood waste: natural untreated wood, scrap wood, used wood and problem wood waste. Wood waste from forestry activities and sawdust count as natural wood, as well as leftover wood from sawmills. Scrap wood is production waste from sawmills, carpenters' workshops or furniture factories and untreated wood offcuts from building sites (scaffolding planks, struts). Used wood includes wooden building parts and wooden materials such as wooden packaging (crates, palettes), but also wooden furniture. Problem wood waste covers wood treated with wood protection agents, laminated wood waste and mixtures of problem wood waste and other wood.

The wood waste can be incinerated to recover energy, be used as raw material for other wood-based materials or be converted into ethanol or gas by chemical processes, according to the type it is. Used wood and problem wood waste may only be incinerated in municipal solid waste incinerators (MSW) and cement works that have flue gas cleaning. Natural wood and scrap wood on the other hand can also be used in wood-burning stoves and waste wood combustion systems. Only natural untreated wood, scrap wood and pollutant-free used wood are permitted as raw materials in the manufacture of wood-based materials and paper.

Further information:

Waste wood