Richard Coulson, deputy chair of the Wood Recyclers’ Association looks at the effects the coronavirus had on the waste wood industry.
Last year saw a decline in the UK’s export of waste wood to Europe, as we increased the volumes needed for our own Chapter IV compliant biomass plants.
This was a prediction we had made in the WRA the previous year, based on the number of biomass plants that were due to come online in 2019/2020.
Our supply chain was decimated virtually overnight, both at the front end where the raw material is generated, and, in some cases at the back end too.
At the start of 2020, it became apparent that not all new plants had been fully commissioned and realised steady state and yet we had still used 2.4 million tonnes of recovered wood biomass fuel in the UK during the previous year.
With a capacity for a further 600,000 tonnes when all the plants achieved planned output availability, we would soon be reaching a point where all waste wood produced in the UK could be consumed in the UK either through biomass, panel board production or other uses such as animal bedding or re-use. A goal we had long been aiming for!
In addition, 2019 saw an overall increase in the amount of waste wood processed of 6% on the previous 12 months, to a total of almost 4 million tonnes.
We also saw:
- The amount of waste wood processed into the panel board industry rise by 6% among WRA members, equating to an increase of around 12% across the UK as a whole.
- The amount of waste wood processed into animal bedding, equine surfaces and other recycled products drop by almost 5% among WRA members, equating to an estimated decrease of 18% across the UK as a whole.
- The amount of waste wood processed into small scale biomass increase by almost 39% across the UK.
So, as we went into the first quarter of 2020 things were looking buoyant. Then COVID happened.
Our supply chain was decimated virtually overnight, both at the front end where the raw material is generated, and, in some cases at the back end too.
HWRC closures
Within weeks of lockdown the supply of raw material to our members dropped to on average circa 20% of its usual amount.
This was mainly as a result of the closure of household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) and the sudden shutdown of the construction industry due to lockdown.
At the other end of the chain the demand for panel board dropped dramatically, again due to the crisis, meaning there was no market for the finished product so no requirement for the waste wood feedstock.
At the other end of the chain the demand for panel board dropped dramatically, again due to the crisis, meaning there was no market for the finished product so no requirement for the waste wood feedstock.
In the world of biomass, demand for waste wood was still high, but plant operators struggled either because they didn’t have access to enough fuel and/or because they couldn’t complete planned outages due to the ban on travel.
Many of the engineers travel from abroad to the UK to carry out the work on the plants.
The result was the waste wood industry went into temporary decline. Everyday, during lockdown was a moving feast and both the industry and its off-takers alike had to respond to a different set of circumstances and challenges on a daily basis.
Returning to normal
As I write this at the end of August our domestic supply chain of raw material is just about returning to normal.
However, Covid’s initial impact; lack of domestic raw material, and the purchasing decisions end users took to cater for that and balance the shortage of UK waste wood will continue to live on.
UK end-users have been aware of the opportunity to import from Europe for some time. Sporadic shipments have moved into the UK over the past few years and we estimate 20,000 tonnes was imported into the UK from Europe in 2019.
It will come as no surprise to me if, when we announce our statistics for 2020 next year, we see that imports have grown significantly to balance what will be marginal UK exports this winter.
It will come as no surprise to me if, when we announce our statistics for 2020 next year, we see that imports have grown significantly to balance what will be marginal UK exports this winter.
This is particularly the case because we are now expecting the winter of 2020/21 to be a difficult one for the waste wood industry
Our market, in normal times is balancing out nicely in terms of the amount of waste wood produced and the amount consumed per annum.
However, we are a seasonal industry and with a lack of waste wood over the spring and summer months this year, which are traditionally when stock levels are built up, we are expecting shortages and a challenging winter ahead.
Prepared for risk
We need to appreciate also that the effects of Covid could re-emerge and be prepared for that risk.
This will no doubt in turn stimulate even more imports to the UK. Could it even lead us to become a net importer of waste wood? This year I think it will be close but it’s definitely on the cards for the future.
In the coming months our industry needs to be focused and we and others need now to appreciate that the waste wood supply chain in the UK is a really good success story.
We have the domestic capacity to handle and consume all the waste wood we produce as a nation.
We do this in an environmentally friendly manner through the waste hierarchy of reuse – by supporting the members we have who turn their waste wood into reusable items; recycling – through animal bedding and panel board; and recovery through biomass which helps to power over 700,000 UK homes a year.
We are an industry that should be proud of what we have already achieved and what we know we can achieve going forward.
