Progress blurs wood plastic line

By Julie Taylor julie.taylor@dailypost.co.nz

Wood and plastics are coming closer together as progress is made in wood-plastic composites.

At a session on emerging wood products at the BNZ Forestry Industries 2011 clinics at Rotorua's Energy Events Centre yesterday, delegates were updated on developments in both of these research areas.

Scion's Jeremy Warnes said it was still unclear whether wood-plastic composites posed a threat to pure wood products or offered new opportunities for the industry.

The materials can be between 10 and 80 per cent wood, combined with plastics to produce the best combination of characteristics to suit specific purposes - predominantly decking in the American market and the automotive industry in Europe.

Warnes said the composites were generally more durable and stable than their individual components, absorbed less water than wood and were cheaper and less dense than plastics, although there had been some durability issues around early products that lacked particular additives.

The world market was worth US$2.1 billion ($2.5 billion) in 2010 and Warnes said it had grown 15 per cent in the last five years.