Recyclable and biodegradable, hardwood timber is the most environmentally-friendly building product
Written by
16 June 2023
•
3 min read
What do newspapers, tea bags, paper towels, and timber furniture have in common? All of these products contain wood components from trees. Forests not only provide us with products for daily use, but they also represent diverse ecosystems with unique biodiversity that are able to regenerate, regrow and absorb carbon dioxide to produce oxygen. They also have recreational value and offer an environment to improve our connection to mother nature and, ultimately, our wellbeing.
Because timber is recyclable and biodegradable, it is the most environmentally friendly and sustainable building product.
The remarkable transformation of old timbers
Sydney-based supplier of recycled Australian hardwood timbers, Ironwood Australia, has a unique approach to supporting the environment through recycling timber.
“Forty per cent of our business is recycling. We have relationships all throughout New South Wales to extract road and rail bridges – there are about over 5,000 of them in the state. Especially around Sydney and Wollongong we replace old timbers from wharves and decking, transport the timber to our mill, take out all the nails and decontaminate it if necessary. After our recycling process, we distribute the timber back into the market,” says Ironwood Australia General Manager Ian Wingrove.
But the company is not yet satisfied with their efforts. Plans for diversification of their product range are on the table including the production of finger-jointed and cross-laminated panels. Fire-impacted logs, for example, behave in different ways when put on the saw; they spring, which means they create shorter-length timbers along with waste wood that can be used for our cross-laminated building panels.
A better future for our planet
Ironwood Australia takes commitment to sustainable practices to the next level with its replanting scheme, Future Forests. For every tree they use, they plant a new one. Additionally, the Ironwood mill has one of the highest recovery rates of timber possible (milled timber-to-sawdust ratio).
It is remarkable that at their Taree mill, five and a half thousand species of hardwood trees have been planted so far. With the help of agronomists, who assess where each species would naturally grow, Ironwood Australia makes sure that each tree will flourish. It goes without saying that the company is dedicated to keeping the Australian timber industry thriving.
“The quality, look and strength of recycled and reclaimed Australian hardwood timbers far exceeds other building products and has the added attraction of being an environmentally sustainable and renewable building material,” explains Ian.
This also means that Ironwood’s recycled hardwood timbers are suitable for various applications from residential and commercial premises (flooring, cladding and posts) to landscaping. They can be milled to size and finished with various textures to give the timber a specific look.
To support Future Forests and learn more about recycled timbers, visit Ironwood Australia on ArchiPro.
Feature image photography by @jamieblakey and @ronnieblakey | Cabinetry by @magicaxe