One of the factors affecting the utilisation of industrial wood
waste is the environmental pollution caused by fossil fuels and
the regulations imposed to control such emissions (De Hoop
et al., 1997). At a time when fossil fuels were much cheaper than
wood, wood waste was destroyed by burning. The increase in fossil
fuel prices and the environmental pollution caused by their use has
resulted in the use of wood for generating energy (Hahn, 1982).
The effects of legal regulations on wood waste management can
be seen in the management of MDF waste. In Tennessee, where
it is a legal requirement for MDF residues to be disposed of in a
landfill, the number of landfill sites has diminished and burial costs
have subsequently risen, resulting in efforts to demonstrate that
these wastes can be utilised to improve soil (EPA, 2011). Lippke
and Puettmann (2013) reported that in the forest-products industry,
in which biomass is generated as a by-product, it was prohibited
to burn wood wastes in boilers for heat production and it is
only relatively recent that fossil-fuel boilers have been converted
into renewable biomass-burning boilers.