Wood

Europe produces approximately 100 million cubic metres of sawed wood. Europe's forests, where more than 90% of all wood used in Europe comes from, are managed in a sustainable manner. This means that the number of trees being replanted is higher than the number of trees that are cut down. In Europe, 25 million cubic metres of wood is used every year for the production of pallets and packaging materials. Within Europe, more than four billion wooden pallets are in circulation.

Considerations when using wood packaging

Advantages

• Wood is a natural and renewable material. During its growth process, wood extracts CO2 from the Earth’s atmosphere, stores it and replaces it with oxygen.
• Because of its excellent mechanical protection, wood is often used as a protective transport packaging material.
• The relatively low mass of wooden packaging materials in relation to their strength positively affects the environmental impact, this is due to the limited amount of material used and the limited energy consumption during transport.

Drawbacks

• Wooden packaging materials have limited moisture resistance, which can lead to warping, discolouration or splintering.
• Wood can become contaminated as a result of biological causes such as vermin and fungi, as well as mechanical causes such as dust and splinters. The usage environment of wooden packaging materials and the product to be packaged must therefore be taken into account. There are various techniques to protect wooden packaging materials, including pallets, against these effects.
   

Raw materials

Wood is a renewable raw material with a high availability. To ensure wood comes from sustainably managed forests, several certification systems have been developed. The most important of these systems are FSC and PEFC. This certification ensures that forests are maintained through responsible forest management. A well-managed forest is less at risk of being cut down for other purposes, e.g. the development of palm oil or soy plantations or mining operations.

Recycled wood is also used for the production of wooden packaging materials such as pallet bobbins, wood fibre pallets, the use of so-called OSB and chipboard in industrial packaging materials or (storage) crates.
 

Applications

• Wood is often used for protective packaging materials used during transport, such as crates, industrial packaging, so-called flight cases, storage chests and pallets. This is due to the material’s excellent mechanical strength and the possibility of processing it into packaging materials in small quantities.
• Wooden transport packaging materials are often suitable for reuse and can be repaired when damaged.
• Because of its appearance, wood is also used for luxury packaging materials.

During processing into industrial crates, wood can sometimes be delivered in flat or folded form. It is given its 3D shape during the packaging process. This reduces the volume of the empty packaging materials, which makes their transport and storage more efficient.

Ready-made crates that are delivered in empty form have a significant environmental impact during transport and storage. Of course, the scope of this impact depends on the distance that the empty crates travel.

The efficiency for smaller packaging materials is limited somewhat by the relative thickness of the walls of wooden packaging materials. The material takes up more space, which increases the packaging’s exterior dimensions. This negatively affects the environmental impact during transport and storage.
 

Reuse

Crates, pallets and spools are usually suitable for reuse because of the structure and robustness of wooden packaging materials. Reusable packaging materials are generally standardised. They are produced in accordance with uniform quality standards, which improves their reusability. Their dimensions are tailored to the dimensions of e.g. a truck or container and those of the goods to be transported. This is done to optimise the efficiency of the transport. Reusable pallets, storage crates for agricultural produce (potatoes, fruit, onions) and cable spools can be part of a pool system or a close-knit network of traders and repairers. If necessary, these materials are repaired before being reintroduced on the market. By using a return system, packaging materials can be returned when the next shipment comes in or they can be delivered to a depot. The average lifespan of a pallet is seven to fourteen years, while storage crates and cable spools can be used for as long as twenty years. Standardisation, prevention and reuse all contribute to us using wood more sparingly as a raw material.
 

Situation in various countries

Netherlands
In the Netherlands, we use 629 kiloton of wooden packaging materials per year, 77% of which is eventually recycled. This figure includes the repair of pallets. The remaining material is incinerated as biomass to generate energy. (Source: Afvalfonds Verpakkingen)