How MDF recycling is reshaping the wood industry
MDF is everywhere in our interiors. But recycling it? For the longest time that was impossible. After all, there was no way to separate the wood fibres from the glue. Our revolutionary Osiris technology has solved the conundrum once and for all. We are now the first manufacturer in the world to be able to recycle MDF on an industrial scale: a breakthrough that gives MDF, HDF and laminate flooring multiple lives while drastically reducing CO₂ emissions.
The code cracked
A pressure cooker, some steam and a good idea was all Veronique Hoflack, then President of Unilin Panels, needed to lay the foundations for a world first in 2021.
What started as an experiment in her own kitchen developed into a patented technology that releases the wood fibres in MDF from the glue without breaking them. This discovery made possible what the industry had been craving for ages: a way to finally recycle MDF.
From kitchen to value chain
After years of testing and refining the pilot line at our Bazeilles site, it was time to scale up. Today, the very same site hosts the world’s first industrial MDF recycling installation.
In numbers:
- An investment of €20 million*.
- An annual capacity of 70,000 tonnes of recycled wood fibres.
- An impressive 130,000 tonnes of CO₂ less per year, equivalent to the annual emissions of some 100,000 cars.
Same quality, total transparency
Thanks to this technology, our MDF panels contain up to 25% recycled wood fibres, without compromise in terms of quality. The recycled fibres are just as strong, pure and reliable as virgin fibres.
The production process applies the mass balance system, blending recovered and recycled wood fibres in a single production process. The system works as a set of scales. But how does it work exactly? Find out in this video:
In the future, Unilin aims to replace one quarter of all fibres in the MDF wood mix by recycled fibres, across all its sites."
Together we can achieve more
Can’t wait to stock your shelves with the first MDF boards with recycled fibres? Get in touch with your trusted contact or leave your details below.
And yes, you too can make a difference. Did you know that you can give your MDF/HDF waste a new life via the Recover take-back programme?
*This project was co-funded by the French government under the France 2030 programme,
managed by ADEME, with the financial support of La Région Grand Est.
