Production of value-added decorative furniture items from recoverable wood wastes from construction site

Abstract

The cost of wood and non-wood lignocellulosic materials continues to escalate yet the demand keeps rising at the face of the climate change problem aggravated by unsustainable tree removal across the world. Lignocellulose waste is unavoidably generated during construction. The viability of producing decorative furniture items from recoverable wood wastes from a construction site was investigated. Ten construction sites were randomly chosen, for on-the-spot assessment to obtain information on characteristics of bio-wastes originating from construction sites. A 6-flat-storey building was selected for an in-depth study. Data were collected on the composition of bio-wastes, Retrievable volume, and exposure and deterioration status. Redundant fragments of wood wastes were retrieved and processed into glue-laminated panels, constituting intermediate raw material that was used for manufacturing three decorative furniture items. Although a wide range of bio-wastes was generated at the construction sites, wood, bamboo, and medium density fibreboard, wastes were generated more substantially and in decline order, respectively. Most of the bio-wastes had largely deteriorated, but about 60 % of the wood wastes can still be recovered for re-use. Re-using recovered wood for decorative furniture items may save as much as 73 % of the actual cost of wood needed for production, with a negligible increase in labour cost. Glued-laminated panels were used to manufacture shelves installed for office use. The study suggested that more values may be obtained from bio-waste reuse if retrieved without delay.