Timber iQ December 2020 / January 2021 | Page 18

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Treated Wood – a sustainable choice

By SAWPA
The South African Wood Preservers Association ( SAWPA ) recently published a brochure entitled ‘ Treated Wood – A Sustainable Choice ’ which promotes the use of preservative-treated wood as a sustainable building material .

Treated wood as a construction material is renewable and

provided by nature with predictable performance . It captures carbon from the atmosphere and locks it away for decades . It has a low energy demand and a feel-good appeal appreciated by almost everyone .
Wood is part of the bioeconomy , can be sourced responsibly , is a flexible and adaptable material that can be used efficiently and aligns with the concept of a circular economy . At the end of its life wood can be reused in an ongoing process of uses , recycling or recovery of energy . Wood is consequently one of the few truly renewable construction materials .
Wood offers a simple way to reduce CO 2 emissions through :
• the carbon sink effect of the forests ;
• the carbon storage effect of wood products ; and
• substitution for carbon-intensive materials .
16 DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021 // www . timberiq . co . za