Scottish companies could benefit from the market for wood-plastic composite materials which is forecast to grow to more than £1bn in Europe by 2008.

At a seminar organised by the Scottish Forest Industries Cluster (SFIC) in Dundee on January 21, the potential uses for wood-plastic composites were spelled out to companies involved in their development and to construction industry representatives.

SFIC chairman Stefan Kay said: “Environmental pressures are driving the demand for new materials that are sustainable yet also perform better than current alternatives. Scottish companies have a real chance to fill the gap in what is planned to grow into a multi-million pound industry in the next few years.”

&#8220Wood-plastic composites could remove thousands of tonnes from the waste stream every year
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SFIC chairman Stefan Kay

Mr Kay said wood-plastic composites had a wide range of applications and were extremely cost effective. He added: “More importantly, from a sustainability point of view they could remove thousands of tonnes from the waste stream every year.”