Waste Wood: New regulation for environmentally sound management of waste wood in force

On 1 March 2003 the Ordinance on the Management of Waste Wood entered into force. The Ordinance laid down specific requirements for the recycling and energy recovery as well as for the disposal of waste wood on the basis of the Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act. These requirements provide a sustainable support for the environmentally sound recovery of waste wood and ensure that pollutants are eliminated from the economic cycle.

In the Ordinance, waste wood includes residues from the working and machining of wood and derived timber products as well as used products such as wood packaging, palettes, furniture and waste wood from demolition. The Ordinance covers all the common methods of waste wood management such as preparing waste wood for the production of derived timber products, the production of active carbon or industrial charcoal and synthesis gas and the energy recovery of waste wood as a substitute fuel. If waste wood cannot be recovered, it must be disposed of using thermal processes. Landfilling is not permitted.

The Ordinance guarantees a binding and nationwide standard for waste wood management and thus leads to greater equality of competition, in particular for the small to medium waste management companies primarily active in this field. From both an ecological and an economic point of view, the Waste Wood Ordinance represents another important step towards the sustainable further development of the closed substance economy.

Further information on the Waste Wood Ordinance can be found here.