A Brief History of Wood Recycling

Recycling began in ancient times before written records were kept. Studies show that since time immemorial, our ancestors re-used anything that had purpose to them. During those days, large trees were felled to make tools and ornaments. Once rendered useless those tools were used for different alternative uses and lastly the wood was used for fire. Our Ancestors’ made or grew everything they used as there was no giant discount store down the street where they could just buy what they needed. By necessity they were expert in recycling and reusing these same tools to perform different tasks as their basic survival as a species demanded it.

The world population at that time was sparse and the virgin forests natural resources were so plentiful that our Ancestor needed to merely live in harmony with nature and nature replenished the trees in what was sometimes called the wilderness. With time, human populations grew to where human needs began to diminish the basic area of natural resources as man’s desires became more and more pressing for food and shelter. Forests were cut to provide farmlands to feed the people and the lumber was in a large part consumed to build housing. Along with meeting everyday requirements, these natural resources especially wood came to be decorated into more intricate and artistic creations raising man’s demand for wood products even higher.

Origin Of Recycling

It was in this balanced atmosphere between man and the ability of Nature to replenish itself, that ideas and creativity flourished. The knowledge to recycle and reuse broken pieces of wood to make new products came into play. Until the advent of plastic, forest resources were considered the most versatile of mediums that could be used and reused.

Today, we look for alternatives for wood , as it is scarce. Rising environmental threats are pushing us to opt for materials that can be recovered and reused, like screws, bolts, dowels, etc. Recycling wooden products will help in reducing the pressure on our already depleting forest resources.

The Three R’s of Recycling

We should focus on considering the three R’s, i.e. recycled, reused and reduce. The need of the hour is to focus on strategies that would minimize pollution and conserve energy, as the entire process of recycling involves use of considerable amounts of electricity and causes further pollution. One area that is suitable for recycling of wood is found in the box springs from our beds that we discard to our landfills. Many box springs have wooden frames which can be reused as dimensional lumber, recycled as an energy source just as our Ancestors’ did by burning the scrap wood in fuel pellet form, or giving the wood back to Nature as mulch.

Until now, no item has perfectly replaced wood as they are either too fragile or rust easily.

Our best strategy is to reclaim and reuse wooden products and pass wooden resources onto the next generation reducing the burden on Nature’s forests. In addition to the three R’s, reduce, reuse and recycle, the incorporation of reclaim as the fourth R, can contribute significantly not only to the community but to the protection and conservation of our natural forests as well. In man’s demand for housing, one large source of wood reclamation is found in what environmentalists call de-construction. De-construction is taking an old house down and then reforming the lumber into updated styles of homes which consumers really want and is a true reclamation valuable benefit of wood’s flexibility. Compare this to the value of the bull dozer razed structure lying in splintered pieces being loaded by a front loader into a dump truck for hauling and disposal at the local landfill. Ask yourself, “What is the value of that?”

Tagged as: Brief, History, recycling, Wood