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Title: Potential Material Sources for Board Products: Used Pallets and Wastewood at Landfills
Author(s): Araman, Philip A.; Bush, Robert J.; Reddy, Vijay S.
Date: 1997
Source: Proceedings, 31st International Particleboard/Composite Materials Symposium. 189-195.
Description: Millions of tons of pallets and other types of wood waste are being sent to landfills every year. At many landfills wood is or could be reclaimed. One potential use for this material is as furnish for board products. To evaluate the potential to reclaim wood waste for useful products we surveyed municipal solid waste (MSW) and construction and demolition (C&D) landfills to determine the amounts of wood pallets and wood waste that enter these facilities. Wood re-covery at the landfills was also estimated.

  • Wood waste accounted for 7.3 percent of all types of waste received at MSW facilities and 37.8 percent at C&D facilities in 1995.
  • Of the wood waste landfilled, approximately 4.2 million tons was pallet material at MSW facili-ties, compared to 899 thousand tons at C&D facilities.
  • Approximately 38 percent of MSW landfills and 32 percent of C&D landfills operate at least one wood/yard waste processing facility.
  • Approximately 880.8 thousand tons of wood pallet material was recovered at MSW facilities compared to 161.9 thousand tons at C&D facili-ties in 1995.

Recovered pallet material at MSW facilities was used in a variety of ways. Approximately 41 percent of the pallet material was used for fuel. Another 38.4 percent of the pallet material was processed for use as mulch, animal bedding, comporting, soil amend-ment, and material in particleboard. Pallet material recovered at C&D facilities was also used in a variety of ways. Approximately 38.4 percent of the material was used for fuel. Another 32.6 per-cent of the pallet material was processed for use as mulch, animal bedding, comporting, soil amend-ment, and material in particleboard.
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