Possibility to reuse and recycle wood waste and CDWW

Abstract: This essay will address if and how it is possible to reuse and recycle wood waste and CDWW (construction and demolition wood waste). The background will have a short introduction and then be divided into 3 sections. The first section addresses similarities and differences between linear vs. circular economy. The second section will take up bioeconomy and how it is managed in the different countries in the world, and the last part takes up wood waste management. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate from literature if it is possible to reuse and recycle wood waste and CDWW. By reviewing case studies, see if it is possible to implement a practical sustainable recycling worldwide. There are four questions that will be answered to see if it is possible. Those are: 1, Are there enough volumes of wood waste for it to be worth to reusing/recycling it? 2, What opportunities does it provide and how can it affect society, economy, and the environment? 3, Is it worth investing in facilities that only accept wood waste and reuse/recycle the material? 4, How have the trends with wood waste been according to the data collected? The methods that have been used are literature study, qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative as an interview has been conducted, and quantitative as data for wood waste in Borås has been compiled. The result showed that there exist enough volumes for it to be worth reusing and recycling, however, the volumes has gone down significantly and are not stable, though this could be argued due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will most likely change and go up in volume within the next few years. There have not been any studies on how the society could be affected by reusing and recycle wood waste, although from an economic and environmental perspective it shows a positive outcome, such as new jobs get created and less deforestation and less reduction of biological diversity. Depending on the type of wood waste the facility receives, it can affect whether it is profitable or not, as the more hazardous chemicals exist in the wood residues, the more difficult and expensive the treatments and recycling becomes.