NSWMA and CMRA announce C&D wood fuel specifications
New specs to make it easier to promote wood waste as a biomass fuel and advances zero waste goals
The Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA) and the National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) have worked together to develop viable, in-use construction & demolition wood fuel specifications in the U.S. The specifications, announced in May, are based on industry experience, permit requirements for boilers using C&D wood as a fuel stock and regulatory requirements governing the use of this material.
According to both associations, the new specifications provide real world guidance on what works in the marketplace for C&D wood fuel buyers (boiler owners and operators) and sellers (C&D wood processors).
In a May press release, the organizations stated the following: "C&D wood is generated at construction and demolition sites and processed throughout the U.S. by dedicated C&D processors. The processed wood is turned into a variety of end products, one of the most valuable of which is a fuel stock. The new specifications are designed to serve as a starting point in negotiations between potential buyers and sellers of C&D wood fuel and to aid governmental regulators and legislators better understand workable and proven specifications for C&D wood fuel."
Chaz Miller, responsible for managing NSWMA’s state and federal regulatory task forces described the importance of this development; “America is looking to reduce waste volumes in landfills by finding economically sound and environmentally safe ways to reuse and recycle wastes. These specifications will elevate recycled C&D wood – a large portion of the materials generated at construction and demolition sites – to the same level as long-time and proven recyclables, such as paper and metal.”
Dan Costello, chair of CMRA’s Material Standards Committee and president of Costello Dismantling, stated; “Wood is one of the primary materials generated at construction and demolition sites, coming from a wide variety of sources. In fact, we estimate that it can make up 30 percent of these materials. The specs will help standardize wood chips processed at C&D processing facilities and expand markets for this valuable biomass fuel.”
According to the CMRA and NSWMA, C&D wood that is processed properly provides an economical and environmentally-friendly biomass fuel stock, and C&D wood fuel stock is widely used in dedicated boilers globally and throughout North America. They said that C&D wood fuel stock has advantages over other biomass products, because it is kiln dried and provides a higher Btu value when used as a fuel. However, they added that fuel product has to be made to exact specifications in order to meet the operating and permit needs of industrial boilers and gasification systems.
The NSWMA is a sub-association of the Environmental Industry Associations and represents for-profit companies in North America that provide solid, hazardous and medical waste collection, recycling and disposal services, and companies that provide professional and consulting services to the waste services industry. NSWMA members conduct business in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.nswma.org.
The CMRA represents a diverse group of member companies and agencies from the many C&D materials recycling disciplines and industry specialties active in the United States and other countries and promotes the safe and economically feasible recycling of the more than 325 million tons of recoverable construction and demolition materials that are generated in the United States annually. For more information, visit www.cdrecycling.org.
