CA48 - Wasted Wood
The hierarchy of waste, AI & Robotics to the rescue, EPIC update, and the Mass Timber Summit!
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THE TOPIC
This week's issue does two things.
1 - Sheds light on a problem most people aren’t aware of
2 - Highlights a company that is poised to change the industry
The issue I want to talk about is Wood Waste.
You’d be surprised to know that here in Canada it’s estimated that 85% of commercial and residential demolition waste (by weight) is wood.
Let that sink in for a moment.
We are desperate to get more wood for our new construction projects but fail to recover most of the wood we have already put in buildings.
Concrete on the other hand is the most common diverted material, even though it is typically downcycled into aggregate. At least it isn’t rotting in a heap of garbage.
Metal is in a similar situation because despite the reality that recycling is energy-intensive. Metal at the very least has a diversion system that allows it to avoid the landfill.
Throwing wood into the trash is a huge problem and it’s a solvable problem.
Let’s look first at the hierarchy of waste to understand how wood waste stacks up.
It’s pretty simple. Number 1 is best, number 5 is worst.
1 - Prevention
Prevention is the top of the chain because preventing wood from becoming waste in the first place is the best option. This might mean moving an entire house to another location so that it doesn’t need to be demolished or disassembled. It is really sad how we demolish houses right next to places we need more housing…
2 - Prepare for Reuse
Preparing for reuse is similar to prevention because whatever was there is re-used in the same capacity but in a different location. Think about disassembling a building and re-assembling it in a new location. It seems a little far-fetched, but it’s happening. (I got a call last week looking to reuse a building)
3 - Recycling
Recycling is where everyone feels great about themselves because we were taught about this repeatedly in elementary school. The problem is that recycling often looks like wood chips or mulch. It’s technically being recycled, but it’s being down-cycled into a less useful product and it’s decomposing which means it’s releasing it’s stored carbon.
4 - Recovery
Recovery is a nice way of saying incinerated. Wood has and probably always will be used as a fuel source. Again, this involves releasing the stored carbon into the atmosphere but at least it is being used productively to heat something.
5 - Disposal
This is the obvious worst step in the pyramid because a useful material is being dumped into the landfill. Sadly this is often where commercial wood ends up primarily because it is riddled with metal fasteners that are difficult to remove (cost-effectively).
The great thing about wood is it has huge potential.
Since we have been building with wood for such a long time, we have entire cities full of wood that can be reused into new buildings and reduce our need for new wood.
So why don’t we see a lot of this wood being reused at a commercial scale?
Mostly, because it’s too expensive to remove the existing metal fasteners.
Urban Machine is an exciting startup that is looking to change this.
They are using a combination of AI & robotics to remove metal fasteners at a lower cost.
Check out this super cool video of the machinery here.
The amazing thing is that it takes 90% less energy and 100% less new wood to reclaim it from existing buildings rather than harvesting new wood from the forest.
This is the circular economy.
And I want to be a part of it - don’t you?
This is just the tip of the iceberg and there is a lot more to tell. (For another issue)
If you want to get in touch with Urban Machine - send me an email.
I know a guy. 😉
THE PERSON
Eric is the co-founder and CEO of Urban Machine which is a startup that is using robotics and AI to salvage lumber from construction and demolition. He is an innovator and has been pushing the industry forward for over 20 years. His passion for reducing wood waste in the construction industry is obvious and contagious.