Canada has vast forest resources and produces a large amount of waste wood and fallen leaves every year. It is estimated that the country produces about 5 million tons of waste wood and about 3 million tons of fallen leaves every year. In the past, if these wastes were not properly disposed of, they would cause significant pressure on the ecological environment. However, in the current era of green circular economy, they have become the key raw materials for environmentally friendly wood-plastic products, opening a new green development process.In recent years, Canada has achieved the resource transformation of waste wood and fallen leaves with the help of advanced resource utilization technology. Through pre-treatment processes such as crushing, screening, and drying, these materials are processed into a form suitable for subsequent treatment, and then mixed with plastic raw materials in a scientific ratio to produce various types of wood-plastic products. This innovative production model has achieved remarkable results. It not only significantly reduces the total amount of waste emissions and reduces the risk of environmental pollution, but also builds a resource recycling system, greatly reduces dependence on natural wood and virgin plastic raw materials, and effectively promotes the development of environmental protection.
From a market perspective, Canada's wood-plastic products industry has achieved remarkable achievements after years of development. After more than ten years of accumulation, an industrial structure has been formed with 15 large-scale enterprises as the main body and an annual output of more than 55,000 tons. Taking the commonly used wood-plastic outdoor flooring as an example, in 2022, the market size of Canadian wood-plastic outdoor flooring reached US$128.5 million, and by 2023, this figure increased to US$136.5 million. In the proportion of wood-plastic applications in the construction field, wood-plastic outdoor flooring accounts for about 32% of the use of wood-plastic building materials. In the global wood-plastic composite material market, North America is one of the fastest-growing and largest product consumption regions, and Canada, as an important part of it, occupies a significant market share. According to authoritative data statistics, the global wood-plastic composite material market size in 2024 is about US$7.97 billion. It is worth noting that the Canadian wood-plastic products market is expected to grow faster than the global average. Relevant professional research institutions predict that the Canadian wood-plastic composite material market will continue to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.5% during 2024-2032.
Wood-plastic products have a wide range of applications in Canada. In the field of construction, wood-plastic products are widely used in outdoor floor laying, fence construction, wall panel installation and roof material selection due to their excellent waterproofness, excellent anti-corrosion and good anti-insect performance. Among them, the proportion of wood-plastic wall panels in the exterior wall materials of new buildings has increased year by year, and has now reached 16%. In the field of furniture manufacturing, wood-plastic materials can be processed into furniture products such as tables, chairs, bookshelves, cabinets, etc. that have both wood texture and plastic stability. About 12% of low-end and mid-range furniture have begun to use wood-plastic materials. In the field of garden landscape, wood-plastic plank roads, flower stands, flower pots and other products are widely used, which not only enhances the visual effect of garden landscape, but also conforms to the concept of sustainable development due to its environmental protection characteristics. The utilization rate of wood-plastic garden landscape products in new garden projects has reached 27%.
The booming development of Canada's wood-plastic products industry has benefited from strong support at the policy level. The Canadian government actively practices the concept of green development, vigorously promotes the development of circular economy and environmental protection industry, and has successively introduced more than 20 policy measures to encourage the efficient recycling of waste and the research and development and application of renewable materials, creating a favorable development environment for the wood-plastic products industry. At the same time, with the continuous innovation and progress of materials science and engineering technology, the performance indicators of wood-plastic products continue to be optimized, and the production cost is gradually reduced, further enhancing its comprehensive competitiveness in the market.Looking to the future, under the guidance of environmental protection concepts, the Canadian wood-plastic products industry will rely on its rich raw material resources, broad market prospects and continuous innovative technical strength to continue to maintain a strong development trend and contribute more positive forces to the development of the global environmental protection industry and the promotion of sustainable development strategies.
