Copper-containing wood preservatives have been widely used to protect timber from fungal decay. However, as these wood ma- terials reach the end of their useful life spans, copper-containing waste accumulates in large amounts. For example, by 2020, chro- mate copper arsenate (CCA)-treated wood is predicted to be dis- carded at the approximate rates of 0.3 million m3/year in Japan (Kakitani et al., 2004) and 19 million m3/year in the USA (Felton and De Groot, 1996).
In the USA, CCA-treated wood has been traditionally discarded through construction and demolition debris facilities, or through municipal solid waste landfills (Khan et al., 2006). However, the risk of environmental contamination during the disposal of the