Keynote address:: Wood waste-based materials in building applications

Changes in resource supplies, harvesting and processing methods, and the political and environmental climate are necessitating a reexamination of resource bases, and resulting in the recognition of wood waste fiber as not a liability, but an underutilized resource with tremendous potential in the building products manufacturing field. Sources of recoverable wood waste exist throughout the wood processing and construction industries. A number of manufacturers are already utilizing wood waste in building product manufacture, demonstrating the potential applications for wood waste in products ranging from panels to window sills. Further opportunities for the recovery, treatment, and utilization of wood waste fiber abound, and it is likely that the industry will actively increase its efforts to identify and seize these opportunities during the next few years.