EcoReFibre has shown that post-consumer fibreboard can be recovered and reused in the manufacture of new fibreboards. Hence, the technical barriers for horizontal recycling of fibreboard are no longer impeding true circularity. However, wider implementation now depends on whether these solutions can work at scale across the wood-based panel industry. The EcoReFibre Policy Conference held in Brussels on 25 March brought together more than 70 experts from policy, industry, research and other stakeholder perspectives to discuss what this requires in practice.

Donwload or Preview the Report: https://zenodo.org/records/23008544

This dialogue highlighted three connected priorities: reliable secondary raw material flows, the practical capacity to collect, sort, process, and reuse recycled wood and fibreboards, and coherent policy and market frameworks. Without reliable material supply, the industry cannot invest with confidence; without practical collection, sorting, and recycling capacity, recovered materials cannot be used effectively; and without coherent policy and market frameworks, secondary raw material markets remain fragmented and demand remains uncertain.

This summary report presents the main outcomes from the conference and translates them into priorities that are consistent with the EcoReFibre Strategic Roadmap. It focuses on reliable secondary material supply, policy and regulatory conditions, efficient market conditions, circular product design, stakeholder cooperation and practical implementation capacity. Overall, the conference showed that the next challenge is not to define new priorities, but to adopt the technologies and create and maintain the conditions that allow wood and fibreboard recycling to be deployed at scale.