Manufacturing Dubreuilville's wood wastes.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: Wood-plastic composite manufacturing facility plans

Value-added is on the lips of community leaders in many forestry-dependent towns. The town of Dubreuilville in northeastern Ontario is no different with a study underway to determine whether a wood-plastic composite manufacturing facility will work.

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Dr. Luc Duchesne says the project is do-able after his company, Forest Bioproducts Inc., a Sault Ste. Marie-based eco-forestry consulting firm, performed a pre-feasibility study for the town last year.

The next step is to examine potential markets, products and prepare a business plan.

The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and Fed-Nor each chipped in $80,000 for the feasibility study.

Wood-plastic composites are a composite material lumber or timber made of recycled plastic and wood wastes. Its most widespread use is in outdoor decking, especially in the U.S., but it's also used for railings, fences, landscaping timbers, cladding and siding, molding and trim, and window and door frames.

Resistant to moisture and rot, it's branded by North American manufacturers as more environmentally friendly.

"We're going off the beaten path bringing in new technology and a new approach," says Duchesne, a former Canadian Forest Service research scientist. "In most people's blue boxes, there are resins one and two (according to plastic recycling codes). We've seen elsewhere where they're using resins three to seven, the stuff not used in blue boxes."

Duchesne and business partner Norm Jaehrling have met with various Canadian wood-plastic manufacturers, but haven't settled on a manufacturing system that matches the market they want to develop.

Entering the decking market is unlikely, says Duchesne, since lawsuits against some manufacturers using resins one and two have turned that market into a "shambles."

They'll mostly focus on wood-plastic pallets, spacers, and possibly fencing and flooring.

"We're not targeting the commodity market," such as pre-sold lumber products, says Duchesne. "We're targeting niche markets and we'll develop those markets ahead of the manufacturing facility."

Preliminary plans call for a small ten-employee, start-up operation that would truck in recycled plastic waste from towns across Northern Ontario.

"We want to create value for something that would normally be going to the landfill."

Duchesne says he wants to be creative in sourcing raw material, using a combination of bark, mill-generated waste wood and potentially crown rubber from ground-up tires.

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