Wood Industry Group - Industry Projects

The Wood Products Group is addressing several industry-wide waste projects that involve extended supply chain made up of sawmills, frame and truss manufacturers, particle board manufacture and chemical suppliers. The group consists of three large sawmilling corporations (Carter Holt Harvey, Weyerhaeuser and Boral Timber) and seven SMEs.

The major projects being undertaken aim to reduce wastes in plastic wrapping, strapping and wood off-cuts.

Subject of Project	Minimising Waste Costs for Timber Off Cuts
Companies	- Weyerhaeuser Australia - Hudsons Timber - Belmont Trusses - Australian Native Landscapes - Carter Holt Harvey.
Brief Description	Frame and truss manufacturers purchase timber in packs cut to a length that is calculated to minimise the amount of waste generated. Many short pieces of timber can be used in frames and trusses but it is difficult to find a use for pieces shorter than half a metre and these become off cuts for disposal.
Results	Within the forum of the Waste Minimisation Wood Products Group meetings discussions have taken place between the frame and truss manufacturers and one of the larger landscape supply companies, Australian Native Landscapes (ANL). The ANL site at Badgery's Creek was visited to examine the operation and understand the processes involved in storing and shredding timber wastes. It became clear that a contractor such as ANL would require a regular high volume stream of clean timber to justify a pick-up system devoted solely to Frame and Truss manufacturing wastes. The next step is to discuss this with other Frame and Truss manufacturers and to explore options currently being discussed with the Timber and Building Materials Association(TABMA) and the Frame and Truss Association.

 

Subject of Project	Minimising Packaging Waste in Timber Packs - Cardboard Corners
Companies	-Weyerhaeuser (Pine Solutions) - Visy - Hudsons Timber - Builders (eg. AV Jennings etc)
Brief Description	Hudson Farm and Truss first identified the use of cardboard corners as excess packaging. The use of timber in the framing industry involves packaged timber being brought into the storage area where it is broken down to be fabricated into frames etc. This process involves manually handling plastic wrapping, strapping and cardboard corners. From the point of view of these manufacturers, the use of the cardboard corners provides no benefit to the handling or subsequent value of the finished product.
Results	On the 18th of June, it was agreed that Weyerhaeuser would cease to place cardboard corners on the structural timber packs. This situation is being monitored at Hudson Frame & Truss Minto site. The next step is to discuss this with other timber suppliers in order for this to be an industry wide policy. John Brooks has presented the work of the Wood. Products Group to the Forest and Wood Products R&D Corporation Board.

 

Subject of Project	Minimising Packaging Waste in Timber Packs - Plastic Wrapping
Companies	- Osmose - Koppers - Weyerhaeuser - Carter Holt Harvey - Belmont Timber - Hudsons Timber - Builders (eg. AV Jennings etc)
Brief Description	Plastic Packaging used in the protection of timber in transit and storage is sent to landfill after use and thus a waste of resources. The aim of this supply chain projects is to reduce the amount of plastic wrapping sent to landfill and therefore the costs involved in purchasing, handling and disposal throughout the supply chain.
Results	The options available for approaching this problem have been classified using the Avid, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle hierarchy. One solution being explored is the separation of the plastic and on-site compaction to create a viable product for an outside recycler. The wood products groups is working closely with the Pharmaceutical Group on the introduction of the compaction machine.