For release: January 30, 1996
Contact: Barry Polsky (202) 463-2467

To divert more wood from landfills, reduce pressure on forests, respond to the needs of wood products users and help ensure abundant fiber supply, the American Forest & Paper Association has published the National Wood Recycling Directory in cooperation with the US Forest Service.

This comprehensive reference book provides an overview of wood recycling, lists products made from recycled wood, gives examples of products that can be recycled, provides contact information for regional recycling coordinators and provides a nationwide listing of wood residue receiving centers.

"The National Wood Recycling Directory is designed to help individuals, groups, communities, builders, remodelers, and demolition contractors avoid costly landfill fees and better utilize the resource by identifying receiving sites for recovered wood," said AF&PA President and CEO W. Henson Moore. "This is an initial undertaking to place the recovery of wood on a similar emphasis as the successful current efforts at paper recovery to wisely use our forests," Moore added.

Fiber supply shortages induced by harvesting restrictions, growing demand for wood products and consequent increases in lumber prices have spurred wood products producers to maximize fiber utilization. At the same time, landfills are closing and disposal options are becoming more limited and expensive. Some landfills no longer accept construction and demolition waste materials. Other factors influencing increased wood recycling include product innovation, fiber utilization programs and government mandates for use of recycled content materials.

The directory lists more than 650 wood residue receiving centers nationwide. Examples of products being produced by listed companies include interior automobile panels, insulation, fiberboard, particle board, finger-jointed lumber, furniture, landscaping material, pallets and paper.

"The National Wood Recycling Directory is one of many publications and resources AF&PA has produced to foster and expand forest products' recovery and recycling," said Moore. "We're already leading the way in paper recycling, with a recovery goal of 50% in the year 2000. Use wood, now a critical disposal issue, may soon follow paper to become a valued economic and raw material asset. Producing this directory puts in place the infrastructure to make wood recycling happen."

Individual copies of the directory are free, with a charge of $5 to cover shipping and handling. To receive a copy, send a check or money order to AF&PA's National Wood Recycling Directory, 1111 19th Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC, 20036