MDF recycling “breakthrough”
16 January 2017A company set up to develop “the world’s first ever technology to recycle MDF waste” says it has moved a step closer to reality following the conclusion of successful proof of concept trials.
MDF Recovery said the trials success to develop a commercially viable process to recover wood fibre from waste MDF was the culmination of six years’ research and development.
The company said it was now ready to take the proprietary technology to the commercial market and offer the “first alternative” to the use of landfill or burning to dispose of MDF. Britain, alone, disposes of around 350,000 tonnes of MDF each year.
The solution is designed to generate a new raw material source for the wood/natural fibre industry that reduces the demand on standing forests. Makers of MDF board, insulation products and horticultural growing products are target markets.
“We have already begun discussions with a number of leading companies and organisations operating in the MDF production and waste industries and look forward to progressing these during the early part of 2017,” said co-founder and managing director of MDF Recovery Craig Bartlett.
Mr Bartlett said the technology could also process industrial and commercial forms of MDF waste, allowing manufacturers to take back material from their customers – a so called ‘closed loop’ solution.”
It is estimated that between 30,000 and 60,000 tons of MDF waste could be recycled by MDF Recovery each year in the UK and almost 3 million tons globally.
The business has to date been funded via a mix of UK and Welsh government, angel investor and industrial funding.
