An official government study published earlier this month has concluded that nine out of 13 samples of Chinese plywood imported to the UK contained unauthorised species of timber – including African hardwoods – and only one supplier out of 16 was compliant with the EU Timber Regulations (EUTR).
The Chinese Plywood Enforcement Project was carried out by the National Measurement Office, and found a catalogue of failures on a worrying scale.
The report described how much of the timber imported into China for plywood manufacturing is done so illegally, and without the system of due diligence required by Article 4 of the EUTR, enacted in October 2010.
It found that large volumes of tropical wood are imported into China from high risk areas in Africa and Papua new Guinea, and in 9 cases, microscopic testing showed that there was a mismatch between the species found, and the product declaration.
The NMO is continuing to investigate the breaches, with a view to sanctions or prosecutions if the companies concerned fail to comply with the Notice of Remedial Action.
“It’s unlikely to have been incorporated into buildings on major sites, but you will find it on smaller sites because it’s cheaper, or it might be used for temporary, protective uses.”
Charlie Law, Grown in Britain
The NMO is also likely to carry out further studies in related areas on the EUTR.
Environmental consultant Charlie Law, co-chair of the construction group at pro-UK timber organisation Grown in Britain, said that the NMO undertook the study following suspicions in the timber and construction industries that imported Chinese plywood was being mislabelled.
But he said that the non FSC or PEFC-certified Chinese plywood was unlikely to have been used at any major sites run by UKCG contractors.
“It’s unlikely to have been incorporated into buildings on major sites, but you will find it on smaller sites because it’s cheaper, or it might be used for temporary, protective uses.
“It’s something we knew was a risk, we’d seen Chinese plywood and had conversations in the timber industry. There were also concerns about health and safety as it wasn’t always CE marked. There were rumours about they put this stuff together in China. So in the end NMO was asked either to allay everyone’s fears, or to prove that there’s a problem.”
Law said that site managers now needed to check their timber supplies on site. “Subcontractors should be aware of the need to only supply FSC or PEFC-certified timber, but sub-contractors need to check it, and sites are busy places.”
He concluded: “It’s one of those things that confirms why we do what we do in terms of checking chain of custody certificates – it’s always good to have these reminders that there are unscrupulous operations that are trying to break the law.”
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