Wood plays an essential role in achieving net zero carbon. But in Switzerland, its potential is too little or poorly exploited, according to a recent study by Empa, the Federal Materials Testing Laboratory, and the WSL: it is recycled very little and burned too quickly.
Barely 8% of wood in Switzerland is recycled, according to the surveycompared to around 70% for paper.
Nadia Malinverno, first author of the study and researcher at Empa, identified several reasons: “We export a large part of our waste, because recycling costs in Switzerland are quite high and few companies have the infrastructure necessary to recycle wood. Many of our wood flows are, for example, treated or glued, which then complicates recycling,” she explains in La Matinale.
Burned too quickly
Too little recycled and too quickly thrown into the fire too. Around 40% of the 5 to 7 million cubic meters of wood harvested each year in Switzerland are directly burned, which greatly limits its role in storing CO2.
“It’s about keeping the carbon in wood products as long as possible in the cycle to be able to contribute to achieving Switzerland’s net zero objectives,” notes the researcher.
Empa scientists suggest a cascade use: a felled tree should first be transformed into beams or planks, then, when these are worn out, into wood chips. And finally wood should only be burned when it can no longer be used otherwise.
Alexandra Richard/juma
Swiss
