Forest Products Laboratory

Title: Recovering wood for reuse and recycling : a United States perspective

Author: Falk, Robert H.; McKeever, David B.

Date: 2004

Source: European COST E31 Conference : Management of Recovered Wood Recycling Bioenergy and other Options : proceedings, 22-24 April 2004, Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki : University Studio Press, 2004: Pages 29-40.

Description: The United States is a country with a vast forest resource, comprising about one-third of its total land area (or about 3 million square kilometers). As a result, wood is an important renewable resource and is widely used in many applications! including building construction, furniture, fuelwood, textile fabrics, organic chemicals, and paper manufacture. This wide usage generates a large volume of wood waste. Currently, nearly 63 million metric tons of this material is generated in the manufacture, use, and disposal of solid wood products each year. This paper describes the types and amounts of waste wood generated in 2002, recycling efforts in the United States, and the reuse of lumber salvaged from building removal.

Keywords: Municipal solid wood waste, construction and demolition wood waste, solid wood recycling, lumber reuse and recycling, deconstruction

View and Print this Publication (221 KB)

Publication Notes: 

• We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
• This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.

 Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility

Citation

Falk, Robert H.; McKeever, David B.  2004.  Recovering wood for reuse and recycling : a United States perspective.   European COST E31 Conference : Management of Recovered Wood Recycling Bioenergy and other Options : proceedings, 22-24 April 2004, Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki : University Studio Press, 2004: Pages 29-40..