Are Wood Products Recyclable?

The term “recycling” conjures up thoughts of aluminum, plastic, glass, and paper. A recyclable commodity that may get overlooked is wood.

Wood recycling, consisting both of raw wood and used wood products, as well as paper, and has become more of a focus in the past decade. We don’t normally think of recycling a natural, renewable resource, but considering the staggering statistics, it is more than necessary.

 

The downside of wood recycling is that some curbside recycling programs don’t yet accept wood, but by not recycling wood, we are depleting an extremely important natural resource.

Natural Resource Conservation

The conservation of natural resources encourages the wise use of the Earth's resources. The term "conservation" came into use in the late 19th century and referred to the management of such valuable natural resources as timber, fish, game, topsoil, pastureland, and minerals. It also speaks to the preservation of forests, wildlife, parkland, wilderness, and watershed areas.

Local government agencies and municipalities have conservation committees, conservation commissions, and other councils in place to help with these efforts.