IKEA is a popular furniture store known for its particle board furniture. Recently, there have been some concerns about the recyclability of IKEA’s furniture.
Some people say that IKEA’s furniture can’t be recycled and consists of low-quality materials.
So is IKEA particle board recyclable? The answer is yes. IKEA’s particle board furniture is recyclable, but it depends on your local recycling facilities.
Here’s everything you should know about the recyclability of IKEA particle boards.
What is IKEA Particle Board?
The IKEA particle board is a type of board manufactured by the IKEA company to make affordable furniture.
The particleboard showcases its utilitarian design that gets sophisticated with contemporary clean lines and a smooth, white finish.
In addition, the IKEA particleboard is usually densely compressed wood that offers a lighter weight furniture piece than solid wood.
What is the IKEA Particle Board Made Of?
IKEA particle board are made from small pieces of wood glued together.
The particle board is then covered in various materials, giving three types of IKEA particle boards:
1. Extruded Particle Board
The IKEA extruded particle board features a combination of chip wood and low-density fiberboard (LDF). It gets derived from:
- Wood shavings
- Woodchips
- Sawdust
In most cases, synthetic resin serves as a binding agent in the process. The wood gets compressed, extruded, and heated to reinforce the resin.
2. Platen Pressed
Platen pressed is a commonly used particle board. Its processing uses raw wood that gets milled to the required size.
After that, the wood gets blended with a combination of resin and wax. The composite wood gets placed on mats set in hot presses to treat the resin and convert the composite into a board.
3. WoodVeneers
Applying wood to a particle board is easy. Most IKEA particle boards have a wooden white or dark finish.
The veneers are usually around 0.5 to 1 mm thick and glued to the surface of the particleboard. The most popular wood type used is cherry, walnut, and oak.
Is IKEA Particle Board Recyclable?
Yes, IKEA particle board is recyclable because it has recyclable wood chips.
The wood chips get glued together to form a sheet of particle board, then cut into pieces and sold in IKEA stores.
However, the resin glue and finish used to make IKEA particle boards are not exactly recyclable.
They contain formaldehyde which is highly toxic and can contaminate the recycling process. But that doesn’t mean that IKEA particle boards can’t undergo recycling.
Besides contaminating the recycling process, the toxins from IKEA particle boards can cause health problems. Therefore, they need proper disposal.
Reusing and recycling IKEA particle boards can be a great way to keep these boards out of the landfill.
This helps prevent environmental contamination, which may lead to adverse effects.
When it comes to recycling the IKEA particle board, it’s imperative to understand your local recycling facility’s policies.
If your local recycling center accepts composite materials, you can take the IKEA’s particle board for recycling.
But if your recycling center doesn’t accept composite materials, the particle board will have to get landfilled.
The recycling facility may offer a great option to recycle the board for you. If not, they’ll dispose of the board with respect to other zero waste to landfill policies.
Is Pressed Wood Recyclable?
Yes, compressed wood is recyclable. The fiberboard comes from reclaimed wood chips obtained from saw mills and plant fibers like sugar cane.
These materials get combined with binders and waxes to create panels that can help in various construction and home improvement projects.
How Do I Recycle My IKEA Particle Board?
IKEA particle board may get recycled differently depending on the recycling facility.
However, as a general rule, IKEA particle board can be recycled like other types of wood waste.
Here are the typical steps for recycling IKEA particle boards:
At Home
- Remove any metal screws, nails, or other metal objects from the particle board.
- Break the particle board down into small pieces using a hammer or saw.
- Put the small details of the particle board in a green recycling bin for pickup by the recycling facility.
At a Recycling Facility
- Sorting the small pieces of particle board by type of wood chips and size.
- Cutting the large amounts of particle board into smaller pieces.
- Mixing the small and large parts of the particle board.
- Heat the mixture until the wood particles become molten.
- The molten wood particles will get poured into molds to create new particle boards.
What to Do With Old IKEA Particle Board?
There are a few things you could do with the old particleboard:
- Try to recycle it: You can try to reclaim the particleboard at a local recycling center. However, not all recycling centers accept this type of material. Ensure that your local recycling facility accepts IKEA particle board for recycling.
- Sell it or give it away: You could sell or give away the particleboard to someone else who might be able to use it.
- Burn it: You could burn the particle board for heat or get rid of it.
- Build it to something else: You could also build something else with the particleboard. For example, you could make a birdhouse, shelf, or table.
- Throw it away: You could also throw it in a landfill. But this may not be a good idea as the resin glue used to bind IKEA particle boards is toxic, which may affect the environment.
Bottom Line
IKEA particle board is recyclable, but there are a few things you need to know. You should understand if there’s any recycling center in your area that accepts IKEA particle boards for recycling.
If yes, prepare the particle board and put it in the green recycling container.
But if the facility doesn’t accept the stuff, it may give you alternative options to recycle the board.
Again, you may choose to sell or donate the particle board, burn it, or use it to build other useful items like a birdhouse.
