Certification, testing and inspection body BM TRADA has revealed that 50% of timber it has tested since January is not of the species it was labelled to be.
BM TRADA has seen an increase in requests for species identification following an official government study published earlier this year that concluded that nine out of 13 samples of Chinese plywood imported to the UK contained unauthorised species of timber.
Since January BM TRADA, has carried out species identification tests on more than 100 samples from its clients in the timber industry, many of them supplying timber into the DIY market, and found that more than half of the timber analysed was not of the reported species.
All of the timber tested by BM TRADA was from overseas sources that are “less easy to police” than timber from the UK, with a high proportion of the species miss matches coming from China, India and South East Asia, the organisation said.
Nick Clifford, technical consultant at BM TRADA, said: “People have suddenly woken up to the fact that they are at risk. It [the government study] has pushed the EU Timber Regulations right up the list of priorities.”
Clifford continued: “What we are finding is that around half of the samples we’ve tested are not what they’re purported to be. They might not be an endangered species, but in many cases, we’ve found a lower value species used in favour of another.”
“What we are finding is that around half of the samples we’ve tested are not what they’re purported to be. They might not be an endangered species, but in many cases, we’ve found a lower value species used in favour of another.”
Nick Clifford, technical consultant, BM TRADA
He reports that the biggest challenges were around the use of eucalyptus and poplar. “It is common practice to use poplar as an internal veneer and then another decorative veneer – from a different species – on the outside to improve the aesthetics.
“While this would not necessarily be taken as evidence of underhand activity, suppliers have a responsibility under EU Timber Regulation to provide the correct claims.”
A spokesperson for BM TRADA told Construction Manager that “it is unlikely that this is being used as structural timber. Most of the results are from high street stores, it is predominately decorative plywood, furniture and home accessories.”
Timber species verification can be used to assess whether timber either in its ‘raw’ form or when manufactured into a product is the species it is claimed to be in the accompanying document.
BM TRADA believes that the increase in testing means that companies are now taking the EU Timber Regulations and due diligence more seriously and no longer relying on paperwork to identify species of timber.
Speaking to Construction Manager, environmental consultant Charlie Law, co-chair of the construction group at pro-UK timber organisation Grown in Britain, suggested that it was time the industry started to consider alternatives to plywood.
“The issue with this plywood has been going on for some time now and we need to ensure non-compliant plywood does not end up on our construction sites.
“One of the main drivers for the use of lower quality plywoods is price. Therefore the first thing to look at is alternative materials. For example Norbord and Coillte both produce a very cost effective Orientated Strand Board. Both are fully FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified as legal and sustainable, and in the case of Norbord, all source materials are from the UK, helping to support our forestry sector.”
Law continued: “If there is a need to use plywood, then contractors need to insist on full FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) certification – it would be good to know if the failed samples were FSC or PEFC certified?
“This should give assurance that the materials are what they are supposed to be, because of the tracking regime required for these schemes, and also ensures that the plywood is from a legal and sustainable source.”
