Ove Arup engineer Adrian Campbell has told a meeting of London plywood traders it was the trade’s responsibility to check the sustainability of timber products and not that of clients.
Mr Campbell, speaking at Tuesday’s meeting of the Plywood Club of London, questioned whether plywood traders checked the environmental credentials of their products. Club members responded by saying clients also needed to challenge the sustainability of products supplied.
He said timber and panel products had a good story to tell in terms of carbon sequestration but raised the question of future recyclability of those products.
Competing materials, he added, were well behind in the eco stakes but the steel and concrete industries were putting in place policies and systems with the intention of catching timber up in the carbon debate.
Mr Campbell said steel was able to be recycled into anything from tin cans to paper clips, while concrete could be broken up and reused in road construction and other projects.
Numbers at the meeting were buoyed by members from the London Hardwood Club.
The next meeting will be the AGM and a quiz night, held at the Mastergunner on May 11.
