The UK waste wood market remains under significant pressure, according to the Wood Recyclers’ Association (WRA), with stockpiles of material continuing to be reported across the country.
The situation has forced many wood recyclers to pause or restrict their intake of waste wood, and the WRA warns that it may take several months before the backlog is cleared and market conditions begin to stabilise.
The disruption began in March 2025 when several of the UK’s largest users of waste wood—including biomass plants and panel board manufacturers—experienced a combination of planned downtime for maintenance and unexpected outages. This significantly reduced demand for material at a critical time.
The seasonal nature of the market has further compounded the issue, with summer typically bringing higher volumes of waste wood and lower demand.
While some facilities have since resumed operations, offering some brief relief, further outages at other sites have continued to suppress demand. As a result, the market remains saturated.
Vicki Hughes, Technical Lead on the WRA Board, said: “It is still really tough in the waste wood market. We had hoped the situation would improve after the summer, and while some sites reopening did help, new breakdowns and extended shutdowns have left everyone with too much material.
“Many sites have been forced to close their gates or restrict intake, even to contracted customers. Even in the South East—typically a strong market—facilities are full, and some are now looking to export material where possible.”
She added: “This is a UK-wide, unprecedented situation affecting recyclers across the country. We urge those looking to offload waste wood to be patient, as recyclers are working hard to keep material moving where possible.”
Due to the abundance of material, waste wood storage remains a challenge across the UK. The WRA continues to work closely with environmental regulators across all four nations to ensure a flexible and responsive approach to regulation in this area.
Vicki commented: “We are very grateful to the regulators for their practical and supportive response to what is a challenging time for the industry”.