The National Timber Product Stewardship Group (NTPSG) recently signed the National Packaging Covenant to raise awareness among other signatories of post-use options for wood pallets and packaging such as crates and boxes.
In Australia, wood and timber is an excellent and sustainable packaging material because it is cost effective, strong, reliable, repairable and reusable making it the material of choice for major transport and logistics companies.
However, end-of-life wood transport pallets and packaging, particularly large volumes of single-use wood packaging used to import goods, are a large component of the wood waste stream.
A Hyder Consulting report in 2007 estimated some 300,000 tonnes of redundant wood packaging is sent to landfill each year.
The NTPSG has been set up to maximise the environmental benefits of wood products post-use and help develop markets for the re-use, recycling or generation of renewable energy from wood - in order that it can have more life.
Chair of the NTPSG, Peter Juniper says membership of the National Packaging Covenant is a step in the right direction to help the group raise awareness of options for recovery of post-consumer wood packaging around Australia.
While a significant proportion of end-of-life pallets and packaging is recovered already, being a part of the Covenant will assist the NTPSG in its aim of doubling recovery of all post-consumer wood to one million tonnes per annum by 2017.
National Packaging Covenant Chief Executive Officer, Ed Cordner, welcomed the NTPSG.
"The Covenant is a voluntary initiative by Governments and industry to reduce the environmental impact of packaging through product stewardship," he says.
"The timber industry is also committed to product stewardship and we look forward to working with them to divert wood packaging from landfill.
"Although not within the scope of the Covenant, end-of-life wood pallets and packaging are a contributor to the waste stream and a great concern for many of our signatories."
A recent progress report by the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) NSW found thousands of tonnes of single use wood packaging from the commercial and industrial sector are being disposed of each day.
The NTPSG comprises representatives from timber industry associations and companies from across the supply chain including forest growers, manufacturers, timber preservers, importers, wholesalers and retailers, with input from NSW and Queensland state government representatives.
What is the National Timber Product Stewardship Group (NTPSG)?
Membership of the NTPSG comprises representatives from the Australian Plantation Products and Paper Industry Council (A3P), National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI), Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia (EWPAA), Timber Preservers Association of Australia (TPAA), Carter Holt Harvey Wood Products, Forests NSW, Osmose Australia, Arch Wood Protection and Timber Queensland as well as importers, wholesalers and retailers of timber and wood products.
Representatives from the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change and Queensland’s Department of Tourism, Regional Development and Industry assist the NTPSG.
The Timber Development Association of NSW (TDA) provides secretariat and project management services to the NTPSG.
What are the objectives of the NTPSG?
- • Double the recovery of post-consumer timber and wood products for reuse, recycling and renewable energy to 1,000,000 tonnes per year by 2017;
- Optimise the positive environmental outcomes from the disposal of residual post-consumer timber and wood products;
- Have the industry recognised as achieving these objectives.
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