The material par excellence, which has made history for generations and generations. Ephemeral glory for those who (in part) replaced it: the plastic disaster is there for all to see, and the hasty, never too much, backtracking shows us a picture of bleak pollution. Another story for wood, which in our country lines up record after record and is a candidate to form the backbone of many sectors. In the relaunch that must be pursued and achieved over the next few decades, wood can play a leading role, even in its more technological versions which allow it to compete with steel, or to show technological appeal with unpublished transparencies. Here are all the figures of a system that is virtuous to define little.
The versatility of wood is a matter for archaeologists, not for futurologists: has always accompanied us in everyday life, taking on practically infinite forms and functions. From eyeglass frames to designer furniture, through fruit and vegetable boxes and even credit cards (the initiative between the symbolic and the commercial comes from a giant in the sector). Wood and "rilegno" are equipped to live many, and very long, lives. Only two ingredients for this magical recipe: recycling and reuse.
A circular journey
To go through all its metamorphoses, wood makes an articulated journey: Rilegno, the environmental consortium that deals with its recovery and its "revitalization", collects and sends for recycling almost 2 million tons of wood per year. The consortium active in recycling and reuse processes has activated a network of agreements with 4.545 Italian municipalities, and although most of the materials come from the packaging (pallets, fruit and vegetables, food, etc.) a share of well 676.000 tons it comes from the urban collection. In other words, wood materials from domestic consumption also find new life. From furniture to corks.
The first harvest and the treatment to press the wood and reduce its volume take place practically "at zero kilometer" in the many platforms affiliated with the Consortium. At that point the distribution begins towards the recycling centers (largely located in Northern Italy, this aspect needs to be further improved to guarantee greater distribution homogeneity and lower logistics costs). Every day 480 trucks bring the wood to the plants capable of giving it new life. 95% of the recycled wood material is returned to the state of mouldable material: chipboard, then panels. With these we make furniture, pallets, wood-cement blocks for construction, materials for paper mills and compost.
Italy is at the forefront in recycling and reuse
An efficient and solid system. An excellent all-Italian example of circular economics. In environmental and employment terms: research last year conducted by the Polytechnic of Milan estimated that this system generates an economic impact of around 1,4 billion euros (if we also consider reuse it exceeds 2 billion). 6 thousand jobs and above all a "saving" in CO2 consumption equal to almost one million tons. In this sector, gentlemen, Italy is at the forefront. Against a target that the EU has set for 2030% recycling and reuse by 30, we already recycle 63% of wooden packaging in the country.
The post Covid challenge
“The current year presents unknowns. They are due to the health and economic crisis we are going through,” he says Nicola Semeraro, President of the Rilegno Consortium.“This worldwide paralysis due to Covid-19 forces us to review our lifestyles and choices at all levels. Government, business and even individual choices must be oriented towards the values and principles of sustainability, protection of the environment and ecosystem in which we live. Already Henry David Thoreau 150 years ago wrote that 'the survival of the world depends on wild nature '. A great classic. Walden, Life in the woods, is considered the progenitor of the culture of ecology, of sustainability and of the return to nature, and we at Rilegno transmit its values ".
