Richard Mehmed, Brighton and Hove Timber Recycling Project,
Units 32-36, Municipal Market, Circus Street, Brighton BN2 9QF.
The Brighton and Hove Wood Recycling Project was set up in 1998 with the aim of rescuing and reusing as much wood waste as possible. It is a not-for-profit company that is low tech and low capital intensive. Prior to this scheme, no wood recycling was carried out in the area. There was not even any reliable information on how much wood was potentially available for recycling. It was clear, however, that there was a huge amount of wood packaging waste generated by the commercial sector, a great deal in the domestic waste stream and a large amount produced by the building industry.
The working practices of skip companies meant that it was not cost-effective to sort wood waste once it had been put into a skip and mixed with other rubbish, it was cheaper to landfill it than separate it. The Project set out to collect wood directly from building sites, charging less than the equivalent cost of a skip. This way, builders had the financial as well as environmental incentive to recycle. In other words, the Project provides the cheapest form of wood waste disposal, it has to compete.
The material collected from construction sites is sorted by hand and graded. Grade 1 is large pieces of clean, sound timber such as long lengths, sheet materials, doors and window frames and anything potentially useful for DIY. Grade 2 is also sound timber but perhaps too short or small to be easily used for DIY. This, however, could be used for making a whole range of wood products and the Project has developed the wood Marque. This symbol could be placed on all items made from recycled wood and would help raise awareness amongst consumers. Grade 3 is poorest quality timber, such as broken pallets and offcuts. Representing the largest part of the wood waste stream, the Project’s long-term aim is to see Grade 3 wood used as a fuel. This would result in only the most contaminated wood being sent for landfill. Early on, it was clear that there was a market for recycled timber, so the Project opened the WoodStore, the country’s first, and still the only, timber merchant selling only recycled wood. The store has been a great success and now takes between £1,500 and £2,000 per week. Many local woodworkers are using Grade 2 timber to craft all sorts of items and the Project also sells a large amount of firewood/kindling in the winter so much of the poorest quality timber is already being diverted from landfill. In fact up to 85% of the incoming wood is successfully reused.
Apart from a few small setup grants the Project is entirely financially self-supporting. The entry costs for this kind of project are very low, making it good for the community sector. It brings many benefits by reducing waste and saving resources, creating relatively low skilled but highly worthwhile jobs, providing a source of low-cost wood for the community and by having a low environmental impact. The project currently has a turnover of £120-130,000 a year and employs six people. Since its launch, 3,000 tonnes of wood have been recycled but the most exciting thing is that the Project is fast becoming a model for similar schemes around the country. Several have already set up and our aim is to help many more over the coming years. That would result in a lot of resources saved, a lot of jobs created and a lot less wood ending up in landfill.
