Wood (excluding paper) accounts for over 6% of landfill each year.
Since landfill is designed to isolate trash from the environment, very little decomposes, creating semi-permanent deposits of waste. Hence, waste is never actually "thrown away". The use of landfill as a permanent waste mechanism has devastating effects on the environment. After a landfill is closed, the garbage remains buried there, and the site and groundwater must be monitored for several decades. The USA alone creates 210million tonnes of landfill every year.
The production of wood has a considerable effect on the amount of waste deposited in landfill, bearing in mind factory wastes from manufacturing processes, waste from making fuels to transport materials and products and actual timber product waste.
The consideration and implementation of the systems of ecological restoration, waste minimisation and a cradle-to-grave outlook would significantly improve not only the environmental performance of the wood industry, product design and usage of timber products, but also lead to a wiser, more sustainable use of all natural resources, a "greener" business world, less landfill and overall, a better quality of life. People will be confident that they are living in a healthy and risk-free environment that is richer is wildlife and natural biodiversity and can actively care for, enjoy and appreciate the environment better.
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