Page 23 - Environmental_Circular Economy

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In a research “Evaluation of Wood Cascading”, Karin Höglmeier & Gabriele Weber-Blaschke & Klaus Richter
(2015) evaluate the concept of Wood cascading, comparing the cascading use of one metric ton of
recovered wood to direct incineration of this resource by applying cascading. In the majority of the
considered impact categories and variants, cascading proved to be the more environmental-friendly
alternative. “Yet, especially the efficiency of the recovery of wood between the different steps of the
cascade influences the performance of the cascading system, thereby demonstrating the importance of
improving process efficiency as well when handling renewable resources such as wood”.

Beyond wood, other raw materials and biomass can be used in cascade. For instance, the oceans offer
large opportunities for the cascading use, for instance with the use of fisheries discards (which is about
40% of the total fish caught), or the use of seaweed that can be used in cosmetics, pharmaceutical
products or others.

In the same line, the European Commission encourages biorefineries to adopt a cascading approach to the
use of their inputs. In these sectors, the circular approach is still new and offer a large scope for research
and innovation.