glossary

Cascade use

Cascade use allows for more efficient use of wood as a natural and renewable carbon storage medium.



Cascade utilization generally refers to the successive, repeated reuse and recycling of a raw material to produce (possibly different) products, followed by a final thermal recovery.


For pallets, this includes:


  • first production
  • multiple reuse
  • Multiple repairs (where possible and practical)
  • Transformation into chips
  • Further processing of the shavings into chipboard and pallet blocks
  • Multiple recycling to new chipboard
  • final thermal utilization as a substitute for fossil fuels

ISPM 15 Standard (IPPC)

ISPM 15 stands for International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures for Wood Packaging in International Trade. In 2002, the IPPC (International Plant Protection Convention), a sub-organization of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN), agreed on phytosanitary measures for wood packaging to protect native forests from pests and to harmonize national import regulations.


Appropriately heat-treated (HT) wooden packaging is marked with the stylized ear of wheat and an identification number assigned by the national plant protection agencies.

FOR 50

The FOR 50 label is an environmental label for wooden packaging, which has been mandatory in Italy since January 1, 2023.

It applies to all types of wooden packaging, such as boxes, crates, pallets, plywood, particleboard, or fiberboard. The marking is intended to clearly indicate that the product is made of wood.

The labeling is intended to help protect the environment and promote the recycling of packaging materials.

Technical drying (KD)

Technical drying is a drying process in which wood is dried to a specific moisture content. Technical wood drying takes place in sealed drying chambers (KD = kiln dried, AD = air dried). The climate within these chambers is controlled to allow the moisture to escape quickly yet gently.


The goals of drying are:


  • Increase durability
  • Protection against fungal and insect infestation
  • Adjusting the wood moisture content to the intended use
  • Protection against blue stain
  • Increased strength


ISO 8611

The three-part ISO 8611 standard is an internationally developed series of standards for pallets used in freight transport, established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). These standards are also recognized as European (EN) standards and therefore in Germany (DIN).


DIN EN ISO 8611-1 "Pallets for the transport of goods - Flat pallets - Part 1: Test methods" defines test methods for new, commercially available flat pallets for the transport of goods. The methods described in the standard relate to the nominal load, the maximum payload, and the breaking load test.


DIN EN ISO 8611-2 "Pallets for the transport of goods – Flat pallets – Part 2: Performance requirements and selection of tests" specifies the performance requirements for determining the nominal loads of new flat pallets. It also specifies which tests are required for new flat pallets under various handling conditions and which performance requirements must be achieved in tests with additional loads.


DIN EN ISO 8611-3 "Pallets for the transport of goods – Flat pallets – Part 3: Maximum payloads" describes the determination of the maximum payload for flat pallets. The tests used for this purpose are contained in Part 1 of the standard series.



The aim of the ISO 8611 series is to avoid the risk of damage or loss due to defective and incorrectly used pallets in freight transport and handling.

Waste Wood Ordinance – Waste Wood Ordinance

The Waste Wood Ordinance (AltholzV) came into force on March 1, 2003 and regulates the recycling and disposal of waste wood in the Federal Republic of Germany.


The term "waste wood" refers to industrial waste wood and used wood, if it is waste according to the definition of the Circular Economy Act.


The Circular Economy Act sets a framework for the use of waste in the sense of a circular economy and contains general regulations which are specified for waste wood in the ordinance.

Altholz

The term "waste wood" encompasses industrial waste wood and used wood, insofar as these are generated as waste.


Industrial residual wood refers to wood scraps generated during wood processing.

Used wood, on the other hand, refers to used products made of solid wood, wood-based materials or composite materials with a predominant wood content.


Waste wood from categories AI and A II is used in the wood-based materials industry. The finest grades of this waste wood are used to manufacture particleboard or pallet blocks.

Waste wood categories

For wooden packaging materials, the waste wood categories AI and A II are relevant. According to the Waste Wood Ordinance, they are generally assigned under waste code 150103.


Waste wood category AI: natural or only mechanically processed waste wood that, during its use, was not contaminated with foreign substances to a negligible extent.


Waste wood category A II: glued, painted, coated, varnished or otherwise treated waste wood without halogenated organic compounds in the coating and without wood preservatives

Recyclability

The term recyclability describes the fundamental suitability of materials to be reused as secondary raw materials after their intended use. This refers to material recycling in the sense of cascade use, and not just energy recovery or composting.

Carbon balance

The carbon balance describes the balance of carbon bound in a material or product and/or released during production and/or use as a component of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon (C) is bound during plant growth through photosynthesis and stored long-term in the natural raw material wood.


This has a positive effect on the carbon balance of wood products, making wooden packaging and pallets "mobile carbon storage devices".

DGUV Rule 108-007

The DGUV rule 108-007 refers to storage facilities (shelves and stationary as well as mobile shelves and cabinets) and to storage equipment (pallets intended for reuse with or without stacking aids and stacking containers).


It describes requirements for the quality and safe use when storing goods and regulations for stability and load-bearing capacity according to operational stresses.


This includes, among other things, specifications regarding static requirements, stability, setup and labeling.

Spanklotz

Pressed chipboard blocks for pallets are made from sawdust from natural softwood or alternatively from processed shavings from recycled wood.


Both materials are pressed together under high pressure and at high temperature. This creates a homogeneous wood-based material that can be processed into pallet blocks of various dimensions and shapes.


Chip blocks fall under the waste wood category A II and can be recycled after use and processed into new chip blocks or chipboard.