Lumber

• SCA's earnings for the first quarter of 2024 were in line with the preceding quarter, but were weaker year on year.
• The price of sawlogs and pulpwood continued to rise slightly compared with the preceding quarter.
• Together with low customer inventories, this has resulted in a more robust market balance and higher selling prices for solid-wood products compared with the preceding quarter.
• The jointly owned biorefinery in Gothenburg began operating at year-end and the ramp up is proceeding according to plan.

• STOCKHOLM, April 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BioArctic AB (publ) (Nasdaq Stockholm: BIOA B) hereby announces that the Nomination Committee for BioArctic AB (publ) presents the following proposals regarding the resolution on the number of board members and the election of board members and Chairperson of the Board at the Annual General Meeting on May 22, 2024.
• The Nomination Committee proposes that the board shall consist of seven members, without deputies.
• Furthermore, the Nomination Committee proposes that Eugen Steiner be re-elected as chairperson.
• The board members Ivar Verner and Håkan Englund have informed the Nomination Committee that they are not available for re-election.

• In response to the need for an effective solution to combat marine corrosion in concrete, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) researchers have developed a biomineralisation approach to protect marine concrete from MIC.
• This biomineralisation strategy has strong potential for applications in corrosive environments, such as in marine and sewage settings, and water-cooling utilities, where concrete corrosion is induced by corrosive microorganisms.
• A paper reporting the research, " Biomineralisation to prevent microbially induced corrosion on concrete for sustainable marine infrastructure ", has been published in Environmental Science & Technology.
• The results contribute to the development of new techniques for inhibiting corrosion to achieve sustainable marine concrete structures.

• The source of contamination is believed to be timber waste from construction and demolition sites that was turned into mulch.
• So far, 60 locations in Sydney and 12 in Melbourne have been identified as contaminated with asbestos to various degrees.
• The severity, spread and impact of the issue convince us to call it the largest scandal in the history of Australia’s circular economy.
• A circular economy recycles and reuses materials or products with the goal of being more sustainable.

Scandal is damaging for the circular economy

• Unfortunately, this contaminated mulch raises concerns about the reckless implementation of circular economy principles in Australia.
• More broadly, this scandal could undermine efforts to advance the circular economy in Australia.
• It’s a reminder that the circular economy concept is based on a system-thinking approach, where all elements must work in harmony.

Regulations don’t go far enough

• However, it isn’t mandatory for suppliers to test for contaminants in mulch.
• The fact is existing policies and regulations, such as the NSW Environment Protection Authority’s Mulch Order 2016, failed to prevent mulch contamination.

Read more:
Buildings used iron from sunken ships centuries ago. The use of recycled materials should be business as usual by now

Why isn’t certification standard practice?

• In 2022 and 2023, working with researchers from Griffith and Curtin universities and our industry partners, we explored the use of recycled product certification schemes.
• We specifically asked for their views on certification schemes for these materials.

• He added:
  The cost of certification is a fraction of whatever their marketing budget might be in any single month, let alone a year.
• If they can see that their certification becomes part of their marketing budget, then the cost of certification is a single-digit percentage of most marketing budgets.
• If they can see that their certification becomes part of their marketing budget, then the cost of certification is a single-digit percentage of most marketing budgets.

What more can be done?

• Our research identified seven major drivers for adopting certification schemes when procuring recycled materials, as shown below.
• Read more:
  Trash TV: streaming giants are failing to educate the young about waste recycling.
• In addition, we stress the importance of directories of approved recyclers to ensure end users have access to quality, uncontaminated recycled materials.

Salman Shooshtarian receives funding from the Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre Australia Peter S.P. Wong, Professor - construction, RMIT University. He receives funding from Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre. He is affiliated with RMIT University, Australia. Tayyab Maqsood receives funding from the Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre.