Wood2Wood is a Horizon Europe project tackling the potential future shortage of wood for buildings and products due to traditional waste management practices and contaminated wood waste being tricky to recycle. It aims to improve recovery from polluted wood waste using advanced sorting and separation technologies and digital tools.

The project has already come up with some interesting research findings in terms of barriers to and challenges for the circular transition of the wood sector. Through an EU-wide horizon scanning survey for trend and signal analysis, they are exploring how jobs in sorting, material assessment, digital traceability, circular design and bio-based processing may evolve by 2035.

Proactive planning is needed. The survey delivers anticipatory insights into changing labour market dynamics, helping policymakers, educators, industry and social partners prepare for disruptive changes and support a just transition. The focus is on sectors such as bio-based materials and industrial symbiosis, where circularity and employment intersect most prominently.

The goal is to envision future roles and work profiles which will redirect recovered wood into new products and materials rather than lost to disposal or energy recovery.

The research findings will be presented at the webinar on 17 July. Read more about them in the W2W article!