Recycling of waste wood creates many jobs in Bay

YOU may find that your bunk bed or dining table was once a sturdy crate holding the parts that make up your car.

The recycling of waste wood from General Motors South Africa (GMSA) and other manufacturers has enabled a Uitenhage furniture factory to create jobs for at least 160 people.

The wooden pallets and timber crates in which parts are brought to the assembly lines at the GMSA plant in Struandale are collected by EC Wood and made into bed bases, bunk beds, couches, tables, benches and chairs.

EC Wood owner Japie Wessels is proud of the job opportunities which his business has been able to create from recycling wood.

The factory, situated in Kruisrivier, was established in 1999 and some of their other clients include the Volkswagen Group of South Africa, Vitafoam, Corning, Nampak, Factory Direct Beds, Algoa Plastics and Sun Citrus Warehouse.

The plastic that is removed from the waste wood go to a plastic recycling company while the nails, screws and steel goes to another company. Some wood that cannot be used for production is sold to the public or donated to worthy causes. Off-cuts are chipped and used as compost while the sawdust goes to chicken and horse farms.

EC Wood is one of nine companies that collect and recycle the more than 100 types of waste that GMSA produces.

GMSA head of plant engineering Angus Clark said more than 1546 tons of waste wood and timber was removed from the Struandale plant last year.

"Of that, just over half was turned into useful wooden products," he said.

GMSA had reduced its non-recyclable waste by 60%, from 34.09kg per vehicle manufactured in 2008 to just 11.08kg last year. The target was to cut it in half, down to 5.5kg per vehicle by the end of the year.

Clark said GMSA was committed to reducing the amount of waste it created, and to making sure that it sent the least possible amount of waste to landfill sites. - Herald Reporter

subscribe