Solid Waste Management

Weyerhaeuser policy requires mills and manufacturing facilities to develop strategies and implement programs to manage, reduce or eliminate residual or solid waste, such as wood and bark residuals, ash and sludge. A key strategy is to reuse residuals. We use it to manufacture our own products, convert it to energy, or sell it to other industries.

As a result of this waste management policy, in 2007, 88 percent of our manufacturing facilities in the United States were in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's lowest-risk category for hazardous waste generation.

We Make the Most of Each Log

Weyerhaeuser uses almost every portion of every log in our manufacturing processes. In fact, we use an average of 97 percent of each log in our North American operations. Wood chips left over from making lumber are used to make pulp and paper. Logs too small for dimensional lumber are processed into engineered wood products such as oriented strand board. And we generate a substantial amount of energy from biomass fuels, including wood residuals.

Many of our mills actively seek partners and customers who are able to use wood residuals in their products or processes, further reducing waste. Obtaining maximum use of raw materials is a key consideration in process improvement, capital modifications, product changes and manufacturing operations.