For the first time, biomass has overtaken panel board as the main market for UK recycled woodchip. This is according to the latest wood recycling market statistics for 2012 from the Wood Reyclers’ Association (WRA), who are still pleased with the figures, given the current economic climate. However, while the figures reveal a small increase in UK demand for material, they also demonstrate, in a trend linked to the recession in Europe, that recycled wood sent to the export market has fallen by 10%.
Published earlier this month, the annual ‘Waste wood to market statistics’ show that a total of 2.26 million tonnes of recycled woodchip was sent to UK markets in 2012, which means this has increased by 5.2% increase compared to 2011, while the amount sent by WRA members to UK markets increased by 8%. Yet during this period, the volume of material sent to export markets fell from 654,000 tonnes in 2011 to 590,000 tonnes in 2012.
So what does this mean for the UK’s economic and environmental wellness? Overall demand for UK woodchip increased by just 1.7% compared to 2011, to 2.85 million tonnes in 2012. With regards to the fall in export demand, the WRA noted ‘The mild European winter in 2011/12 suppressed demand on the continent, as did the persistent recession in the Eurozone. Exports of panel-board grade suffered slightly more than those of biomass.’ The WRA explained that the ‘sharp switch from panel-board to biomass’ was largely due to the suspension and eventual closure of Sonae’s Knowsley panel board mill in late 2012, which had been diverting material to biomass instead.
WRA chairman Andy Hill commented, ‘Given the difficult economic circumstances, I think we can be pleased with these figures. The contribution of WRA members to the UK wood recycling industry has continued to grow strongly. A fall in exports was to be expected, given the unfavourable climatic and economic circumstances on the Continent, but things improved significantly towards the end of the year. A dip in the UK panel-board market was also inevitable. However, UK biomass markets have compensated for this, and high value markets have more or less held their own.’ Hill added, ‘I expect to see a strong resurgence in both UK and export markets this year. Wood recyclers continue to make a major contribution to both the economy and the environment.’
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