Review Article

Integrating Energy and Environmental Management in Wood Furniture Industry

Table 7

Measures for waste reduction in wood furniture industry [27, 28].

OperationMeasure

Lumber receiving, drying, and storage(i) Proper and efficient planning and organizing lumber purchasing and delivering
(ii) Inspection and sorting of lumber
(iii) Lumber separation by kiln sticks when stacking
(iv) Improving boiler efficiency
(v) Improving drying kiln efficiency
(vi) Using energy efficient drying techniques
(vii) Storage of material in a warehouse

Rough end and gluing(i) Removing defects from rough lumber efficiently
(ii) Finger jointing (joining of two short sticks or boards)
(iii) Recycle wood waste and sawdust
(iv) Using the proper glue and proper gluing techniques

Machining and sanding, assembly(i) Recycle wood waste and sawdust
(ii) Adequate designing of wood dust collection and transport system
(iii) Regular cleaning sanding belts and machine tools
(iv) Using the proper glue and proper gluing techniques

Finishing
(i) Using alternative coating materials
(ii) Application of more reliable and more efficient coating application technologies
(iii) Adequate planning and organizing of production operations and maintenance

Packing, shipping, and warehouse (i) Enhancing packaging performance by evaluating damage history
(ii) Enhancing packing performance by evaluating packaging water resistance
(iii) Decreasing toxic metals content of packaging materials
(iv) Eliminating ozone depleting substances in packaging materials
(v) Redesigning packaging to minimize volume and weight—by evaluating packaging materials and closure methods
(vi) Developing reusable containers
(vii) Improving compatibility of packaging materials for recycle
(viii) Recycling other wastes produced in the packaging, shipping, and warehouse

Workspace and equipment maintenance (i) Using synthetic lubricating oils with longer life and their recycling
(ii) Maintaining of kilns and their proper control
(iii) Oil cleaning up with recyclable absorbents
(iv) Keeping chemical wastes segregated
(v) Separating and recycling paper, wood, metals, and glass
(vi) Using wood boiler ash as a soil conditioner