Wood

Most varieties of timber can be recycled. Timber recyclers generally accept soft and hardwood materials, fencing, floorboards, plywood and all forms of clean demolition timber. Recycled timber may be reused in DIY or construction projects. Alternatively it can be chipped using a shredder and employed as a raw material in particleboard processing or as animal bedding, depending on the size and quality of the chipped wood.  

Preservative treated timber does, however, pose a problem. Wood treatment employing chromated copper arsenate (CCA), or tanalised timber, is now restricted by an EU directive since June 2004. If burnt, even in state-of-the-art incinerators, the heavy metals in CCA are not destroyed. The chromium and copper become concentrated in the ash, while the arsenic becomes a vapour that can escape into the air. An alternative to incineration would be reuse in new applications, such as fence posts, landscape timber etc.

Plastic

All types of plastic are recyclable. Polyethylene (fizzy drink bottles, plastic milk bottles), polypropylene (margarine tubs) and polystyrene (yoghurt pots, vending cups, protective packaging for electronic goods and toys) are recycled regularly in high volume.

Incinerating plastic is the same as burning oil — both are fossil fuels. Reusing is preferable to recycling as it uses less energy and fewer resources. PVC, used for food trays, cling film, mineral water bottles, sewer/waste/rainwater pipes and window frames should not be incinerated and is best reprocessed back to PVC products. When this type of plastic is burnt the chlorine element in PVC will cause dioxins and furans to be produced.

Products made from recycled plastic comprise polyethylene bin liners and carrier bags, PVC sewer pipes, flooring and window frames, building insulation board, video and compact disc cassette cases, fencing and garden furniture, water butts, garden sheds and composters, seed trays, anoraks and fleeces, fibre filling for sleeping bags and duvets.

Paper

Waste paper is the most important raw material for the British paper and board industry and is crucial in the UK due to the lack of forests. Re-using paper reduces the need for imported virgin pulp.

Producing recycled paper involves less energy consumption than virgin paper and uses less water. This is because most of the energy used in papermaking is the pulping needed to turn wood into paper.

Paper mill sludge can be used as a base material for construction market applications whilst high wet-strength paper waste can be used in the middle layers of packaging papers and boards.