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Fully Biodegradable

END OF LIFE

In the end of life phase Accoya has no limits. Accoya is a non toxic product and therefore fully biodegradable.

Recycling Accoya

As a result of Accoya being biodegradable, it can be handled in the same manner as untreated wood at the end of its life (as stated in the company’s KOMO product certificate and further evidenced by SHR – Wood Research Foundation Netherlands), therefore Accoya fits perfectly in the Cradle to Cradle design philosophy for which it has been awarded the Gold certification.

Accsys Recommends

Accsys recommends that users of Accoya wood adopt the “Ladder of Lansink” recycling strategy in the end of life phase. This model largely follows the guidelines of the Cradle to Cradle philosophy to close biological and technological cycles as much as possible and re-use materials in applications with the same or even higher added value (up-cycling). The model consists of the following possible waste management scenarios in which prevention is the preferred option and dumping the least:

  1. Prevention – avoid waste
  2. Prevention – develop products that create no harmful waste (e.g. 100% biodegradable)
  3. Useful application through product and material re-use
  4. Useful application through energy production (incineration)
  5. Remove: burn
  6. Remove: dumping / composting

Avoid waste

Prevention

The waste hierarchy, or Lansink’s Ladder, distinguishes six steps of waste management to reduce and manage waste in order to maximise the efficient use of natural resources. It ranks waste management options according to what is best for our environment. Prevention and reusing waste are the top priority (avoidance).

Develop products that create no harmful waste

Re-use

Reduce waste by reusing products and materials. Reusing and reducing go hand in hand. By reusing materials you also reduce the amount of waste.

Useful application through product and material re-use

Recycle

Most waste can be recycled. Such as single streams of plastics, paper, and metals. Recycling is a (long) process where disposed items or waste materials are separated, collected and processed in order to manufacture an entirely new product. Recycling is a preferred option when waste can’t be reused. It prevents the need for extracting raw or virgins resources.

Useful application through energy production (incineration)

Energy

Generating energy from (mixed) waste materials. This is also known as ‘waste to energy conversion’. By incinerating waste materials energy can be generated. Such as heat and electricity. The downside of energy recovery is that waste materials are burned and lost forever in order to generate energy. Composting organic waste or bio-mass waste in order to generate energy is also a form of energy recovery.

Burn

Incineration

Incineration is also a form of burning waste materials. But in this case no energy is produced by burning the waste. The purpose of incineration is to dispose waste in order to prevent it from being dumped on landfills.

Landfill

Dumping

A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burying it in the ground. This is the last method of waste disposal and the least favoured. Dumping waste on landfills only has disadvantages. It won’t generate energy, it is heavily polluting and recycle resources materials can’t be reused.

Landfill

Dumping

A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burying it in the ground. This is the last method of waste disposal and the least favoured. Dumping waste on landfills only has disadvantages. It won’t generate energy, it is heavily polluting and recycle resources materials can’t be reused.

Upcycling Accoya

For more efficient use of limited resources, and optimum carbon sequestration effect, Accsys recommends that in the end of life phase Accoya is re-used in applications with the same or even higher added value (up-cycling). It is particularly encouraged to design products / projects with ease of disassembly and re-use as a consideration. Furthermore, as acetylated MDF (Tricoya), contrary to regular MDF, may be perceived as a premium material, the reuse of Accoya to manufacture Tricoya fits well in this scheme as well as further increasing the carbon sink effect.

Alternative Uses

Alternative Uses

If upcycling is not possible, Accoya wood may be used for energy production through incineration. As wood products are in essence stored solar energy, they can always be used for green energy production (releasing only the CO₂ absorbed during growth) thus saving emissions caused by burning oil, gas or coal, including the ecosystem deterioration that use of these fossil fuels causes. The German research institute Wilhelm-Klauditz-Istitut (WKI) has confirmed that Accoya wood may be incinerated for energy production in the same manner as untreated wood and that no additional toxic substances will be released upon incineration (unlike wood chemically impregnated with metal salts).

In the least favoured scenario of composting, Accoya wood can be handled in the same way as untreated wood bearing in mind that this process may take longer than for untreated wood due to Accoya wood’s high durability.

Useful Resources

Sustainability
Sustainability
8.29MB
KOMO Product Certificate
213.66kB
Accoya non-Toxic Statement by SHR Timber Research
46.20kB

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