Reusing wood remnants leads to substantial CO2 savings in furniture sector

With the placing of signatures on June 13, 2023, Royal CBM, Baars & Bloemhoff and Unilin Panels launched a unique chain initiative called "Wood Loop." The purpose of the Wood Loop foundation is to collect wood remnants from SME companies in the interior design and furniture industry in order to turn them into new panels. By participating, SME entrepreneurs can now do their circular bit to recycle more than 100 kilotons of wood remnants per year leading to an annual reduction of 95,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

The impetus for Wood Loop

he Netherlands must be fully circular by 2050 and by 2030 we will already have to use 50% less primary raw materials. The Dutch furniture sector consumes 635 kilotons of wood annually. Of this, as much as 18% is lost during the production process in the form of sawing residues and wood dust. One in six new boards processed during the production of interiors thus disappears into the waste bin.
As an industry, we need to reduce this loss. Through collaboration in the chain and the use of Wood Loop crates, we make better use of the wood suppliers' existing transportation and the board supplier commits to taking the raw material. This eliminates wood from the biomass boiler as fuel. Very transparent!

Separating at the source

The biggest gains can be made in the furniture maker's or interior builder's workshop by separating wood residue at the source. In recognizable and specially developed Wood Loop crates, the furniture maker sorts the waste wood himself. He knows what is allowed in them and what is not. The impact and why are visually depicted on each crate. Participants pay a price no higher than they currently pay to a waste processor, but the disposal is now demonstrably circular.

Everything through one digital platform

The digital Wood Loop platform takes care of everything and connects the joiner with the wood supplier and the producer. A simple scan of the QR code at a full crate leads directly to a notification to materials supplier Baars & Bloemhoff to come and pick it up. By combining a return trip with a new delivery of sheet material, many fewer kilometers are driven and a large CO2 saving is realized. All crates are weighed and linked to the Wood Loop platform. So we can see where, how much and what kind of wood scraps are available for reuse in the Netherlands. Producer Unilin Panels collects the raw materials from materials supplier Baars & Bloemhoff and can reuse them for the production of new board materials. Each participant can see their contribution in CO2 savings and collected mass of raw material on their own dashboard. In this way, everyone has real-time insight.

A positive judgment of law

Normally, wood residues released from companies are "waste" and there are strict rules around waste legislation. It is established by law that only a registered waste processor with a VIHB permit may do so. However, Wood Loop received a legal judgment from the North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service on June 9 due to its method of operation. With this end-of-waste statement, it is legally substantiated that it is raw materials. A positive development in which the environmental service has an eye for initiatives that contribute to the goal of a fully circular economy in 2050.