The Government of Canada needs to step up to the plate, obligate financial and sustainable policy change in Canada's emerging Wood recycling industry

The Government of Canada continues to watch? As European, New Zealand, and American Wood recycling industries continue to showcase global leadership in the Wood recycling industry.

Another Forestry Wood debris recycling LEADERSHIP initiative.

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A Finnish Wood recycling company created a new material with a clear goal: sustainability. It is Woodly, a wood-based bio-plastic that has zero carbon qualities to reduce dependence on fossil materials and can be used for different applications, being recyclable several times. This June 2020, Woodly entered a retail store for the first time to package its products.

“We are a global materials development technology company based in Finland. We strive for a world without waste, where recyclable carbon-neutral, wood-based plastics become the standard in packaging materials, leading to an ecologically sustainable future. Our vision is to circulate the production of bio-based plastics from sustainable and responsible raw materials, ”begins Woodly Ltd.

This is how the company explains its brand objective: the search for sustainability through materials. Its main product is Woodly , a plastic based on wood that is recyclable multiple times, whose main raw material comes from forests managed with international ecological and ethical standards. Currently, 1st generation Woodly? grades are certified by Tüv Austria as 40-60% bio-based. "This is the first step on our way to 100% organic content," adds the company.

Composition and manufacture

Woodly is a bio-sourced carbon neutral material that is designed to be recycled after use. It is made up of several elements, but the main one is the cellulose polymer that comes from wood. Later, “cellulose is modified with different elemental components so that it behaves like plastic. These components are inspired by nature and many of them can be found directly as parts of plants. We also use elements of fossil origin since some of the counterparts of biological origin are not yet available on an industrial scale ”, they clarify.

The process of creating this material is carried out using granules , whose exact recipe is protected by the company. The softwood pulp turns into these little transparent pearls.

The granules are produced by its compounding partners, after which Woodly Ltd. sells the granules to its customers, who are converters in the plastics industry. Therefore, the role of the company in the process is to develop and patent the raw material, market it and sell it.

Products

Wood bioplastic can be used in various applications, such as flexible packaging for food, flowers and textiles in its series of protective films (Woodly 100), which also collects film to laminate on cardboard packaging and thermoformed packaging for fresh food and for products electronic.

Specifically, this 2020 Woodly was introduced for the first time in a retail as packaging of its products : the K-Group company uses this bioplastic in wood to wrap its begonias. "Sustainable consumption is a growing phenomenon. Reduce and recycle plastic speaks to our customers. We constantly develop our own operations and innovate in new circular economy experiments with our partners to ensure that consumed plastic is circulated again. Our cooperation with the Finnish company Woodly is an excellent example of this, ”says Timo J?ske, K-Group's Director of Responsibility in the grocery trade.

In its injection molding series (Woodly 200), the products have high transparency and clarity and are also easy to dye. Typical applications are storage containers for home and office, as well as glasses and containers for food and drink.

In conjunction with packaging, "we are constantly developing and testing Woodly for other applications," the company says.

Environmental objectives

Marko Parkkinen, the founder of Woodly, came up with the idea for wood-based plastic in 2011. At that time, the problems of plastic became a big topic in the media, companies, etc. Many global brands committed to solving their plastic problem by 2025. Marko Parkkinen saw this as a new business opportunity.

With a first clear point that the raw material comes from certified forests, Woodly wants to raise awareness about the increase in the consumption of plastic and the consequent need to change this form of use: first by stopping manufacturing plastic based on fossil raw material and moving to bio-based materials, and second, learning to recycle plastic more efficiently.

“To sustain the planet for future generations, humanity needs to transition from a fossil-based economy to a bio-based economy. In simple terms, this means that instead of oil, renewable resources such as wood, sugars and fats are used to produce plastics, ”begins Woodly Ltd.

Although they comment that this is not enough since "in 2019 we used 50% more renewable resources than the planet could provide us during that year." “It is not enough to simply replace fossil-based plastics with plastics made from renewable sources; We must also find ways to keep raw materials in circulation for longer, ”concludes the firm.

Written by Raquel Lop

"Good leaders value change, they accomplish a desired change that gets the organization and society better." 

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