Environmental Issues

Environmental impacts of ply wood industries may be classified as onsite impacts and offsite impacts. Onsite impacts are those which are felt at the location of manufacturing while offsite impacts are those associated with harvesting of timber used as input for the plywood industry.

Onsite Impacts

Plywood Industry causes air, water, noise and soil pollution. It also carries a large carbon footprint due to transportation and energy consumption.

Air pollution from plywood industry: Air pollution from ply wood industry comes from the following sources:

·      Fugitive chemical emissions of process chemical and fuels used in the industry

·      Particulate pollution from sawing of wood

·      Process air pollution from drying of wood and application of glue

·      Hydrocarbon and particulate pollution from generators

Key air pollutants of concern in ply wood industry

·         Wood dust

·         Diesel Range Hydrocarbons

·         Formaldehyde

·         Methanol

·         Other organics

Chemical characteristics of these pollutants and associated impacts are provided in the links.

Water pollution from plywood industry: Water pollution from plywood industry comes from the following sources:

·         Soaking of timber and associated leaching of tannins and other organics

·         Leaching from open storage of wood, barks and saw dust

·         Leakage and run off of process chemicals and diesel fuel

Water pollution from plywood industry can reach both surface water around the industry by runoff and ground water within the premises and outside by infiltration.

The two main chemicals of immediate concern of water pollution from ply wood industry are:

1.       Formaldehyde, and
2.      Urea

In addition, the organic substances leached from wood can cause discoloration of water making it not potable. When this water is treated using chlorine to be used as drinking water, carcinogenic tri-halo methanes will be produced.

Soil Pollution from plywood industry: Soil contamination in ply wood industry is caused by the following sources:

·         Leaching of organic substances from the storage of timber, bark and saw dust

·         Run off and drainage from process chemicals and hydrocarbons

Most acute of the soil pollution happens within the premises of the industry. However, in cases where the containment arrangements inside the industry are not sufficient, it could easily migrate outside the industrial area and reach soil in the neighbouring community impacting soil quality.

Noise Pollution from plywood industry: Plywood industries are often placed in rural areas where noise pollution causes serious loss of quality of life. Following are key sources of noise pollution from the ply wood industry:

·         Transport of raw wood and finished products

·         Operation of the peeling machine

·         Operation of generators

Offsite Environmental Impacts: In addition to environmental impacts caused at the site of manufacturing, manufacture and use of plywood also cause environmental impacts elsewhere. A lifecycle analysis of plywood is presented here.

Some of the key lifecycle impacts of plywood are:

Deforestation: When the timber used for manufacturing plywood is harvested in a non sustainable manner, plywood manufacturing can lead to severe deforestation. While plywood can be made from softwood harvested in a sustainable manner, this is not always the case and has been implicated as one of the causes of deforestation in tropical countries.

Soil Degradation: When timber is harvested, either in sustainable manner or otherwise, the tree cover is removed. This results in loss of top soil due to run off. Top soil loss is a major cause for productivity reduction in tropical countries. Higher demand of wood for manufacturing plywood will then need even more land to be put under commercial forestry exerting pressure on forests, farmland or both.

Carbon Footprint: Manufacture of plywood exerts a high carbon footprint starting from transportation of the wood, to its processing and transportation of finished products. While it may appear that ply wood help to capture carbon and store it, this is not true in the long run. Plywood generally has low to medium shelf life and it will be sent for composting or incineration releasing the carbon captured.

      Disposal: Final disposal of plywood continue to be a major concern. Unlike hardwood, plywood generally has a medium lifetime (1-20 years) and uses are typically one off. Reuse possibilities are limited due to strength issues and recycling is often for inferior purposes (such as fuel). Due to the presence of organic chemicals, plywood cause reduced bacterial actions in waste dumps thereby making it unsuitable as primary source of composting. While plywood has some calorific value, burning of plywood also release harmful organic pollutants. Hence specialised arrangements not available in normal waste management situations are required to dispose plywood.