There are more than 27 million timber posts treated with copper chrome arsenate (CCA) in Australia's vineyards.

More than one million posts that have outlived their usefulness have to be replaced in Australia's vineyards every year, though Wine Australia stresses that the figure could be much, much higher — possibly as many as 3.3 million. Most of the posts are stored at vineyards and wineries, sold, given away or sent to landfill.

“Around 80 million timber posts are installed in vineyards across Australia, 78% of which are treated with copper chrome arsenate – CCA, while most of the remaining timber posts are treated with creosote,” says Wine Australia, which reveals that disposing of posts that have reached the end of their service life generates 12,000–30,000 tonnes of timber waste each year.

That could be about to change, as Wine Australia is working to create alternative, low-emission uses for worn-out posts: “Our aim is to develop and roll out innovative options to reduce the landfilling of CCA-treated timber and to create valuable new products in the regions.” The specialists added that data, regulatory barriers, reuse and recycling technologies, and management are among the most pressing problem areas. Timber is a greener, lighter and more flexible building material than the alternatives. Under the Australian timber circularity project, the country's leading scientists will set out to prove that timber can also be an excellent circular material.

Wine Australia is a partner in the Australian timber circularity project, which has successfully identified more than 27 million CCA-treated vineyard posts stored across the country, the bulk of them in vineyard-rich South Australia.

“One example is CCA-treated timber posts, which can be reused for agricultural fencing,” says project participant Martin Strandgard, who is working to get the posts reused “repost style”.

“A New Zealand company is already doing this, collecting the posts used in vineyards and selling them through farm supply stores.” The model could work in South Australia too – a region where 60% of all vineyard posts are disposed of each year across five districts. In every country that produces and uses timber – Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic or Latvia – there are timber products that can and should be used a second time.

https://www.usc.edu.au/research/forest-research-institute/national-centre-for-timber-durability-and-design-life/timber-circularity-project