There are many threats that pose a risk to America’s forests. From drought and climate concerns to poor management connected to government bureaucracy to pests and disease. It can be tough to be a tree.
The health of America’s forests is a major concern for the forest products industry since our livelihood comes from trees. And the United States has some of the best, most productive forests on the planet. It is important to protect the forests, and our industry does a lot to ensure forest health from thinning, replanting and better utilizing wood resources and recycling. The wooden pallet is one of the most environmentally friendly products because it is made from low-grade material. Pallets are reused, refabricated and recycled many times. Wooden pallets facilitate global logistics and in many ways make the global economy possible.
As invasive species and wood pests became a noticeable issue in the 2000s, the wood products industry worked with government authorities and researchers to develop standards that can be applied globally. This effort led to the creation of ISPM-15 treatment standards for export packaging. ISPM-15 has become the defacto treatment standard to ensure that wood pests are exterminated in solid wood packaging before being shipped abroad. Global efforts have limited the spread of invasive species. But now some questions have arisen if ISPM-15 is effective enough to stop the spread of pests in the future.
A group of environmental activists and scientists are raising concerns about wood pests and other invasive species and pointing to solid wood packaging as the major culprit. The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies has released a study identifying invasive forest pests as one of the top environmental hazards for forest health in the United States. The report calls for five primary policy changes, and at the top of the list is moving imports toward using only non-solid wood packaging, such as plastic, composites, corrugated, etc.
Called the Tree-SMART Trade campaign, this initiative calls for a ban on solid wood packaging, better early detection and rapid response programs, restricting the import of live woody plants and seedlings and tightening enforcement penalties for non-compliant shipments.
While no bill has been introduced or executive regulation has been put forward to take such a step, the thought of an outright ban should alarm the wooden pallet, crate and dunnage sectors. Obviously, any trade action taken by the United States would lead other countries to respond with similar prohibitions. And wood pallets, crate and dunnage have become a significant part of the global supply chain.
Gary Lovett, Ph.D., led the research effort for the Cary Institute. He suggested, “Because of the limited effectiveness of the current ISPM-15 regulations and the growing trade volume, up to three times as many wood-boring insects may be imported into the United States through 2050 as currently occur there.”
Lovett added, “Completely eliminating this pathway by switching to non-wood packaging material would provide an estimated benefit of $36 billion through 2050.”
So why are some critics saying ISPM-15 is not effective enough? They point to two major reports that look at this issue over the last few years. Bob Haack of the Forest Service has suggested that a number of reasons are contributing to potential issues with ISPM-15 effectiveness. He pointed to the following factors: inadequacy of mandated heat and fumigation treatments to kill pests, post treatment colonization, ineffective data collection methods, and fraudulent or improper application of ISPM-15 treatments and certifications. Haack further estimated that 9,152 containers per year contain some form of live wood pest. This number is still way too high. About 52% of containers have some form of wood packaging material. With more than 16 million per year, that is a lot of containers.
Based on the most recent data, federal scientists believe the infestation rate is 0.11%, which is very low. But it is still high enough to allow invasive species to continue to enter the country some suggest.
Interestingly, the Tree-SMART Trade program doesn’t focus much on firewood, which is the primary way that many experts believe wood pests have spread so rapidly once they arrive here.
The National Wooden Pallet & Container Association is aware of the Cary Institute report and the concerns raised by the activists. Patrick Atagi, the vice president of advocacy & external affairs for NWPCA said, “We are monitoring the issue and following it closely.”
As far as a ban, Atagi explained, “It would absolutely disrupt global supply chains in a way that could put worker health and safety at risk.” He added if such a move led to significantly more plastic pallets being used there would be an environmental impact caused by increased fossil fuel use.
Atagi also contends that such a radical policy move is not necessary. He said, “ISPM-15 works when properly applied… we agree that improved enforcement is needed.” He pointed to trouble hot spots in parts of Europe and Asia, particularly China as the source for wood pests.
Even though the U.S. sector has a very strong and vibrant ISPM-15 program, we can always do more to be better. Pallet companies need to work to ensure compliance as well as identify bad actors who may be undermining the U.S. program. When it comes to imports, product buyers must specify compliant packaging and work with reputable vendors and manufacturers that won’t commit fraud or cheat on treatment procedures.
We need to make a bug’s life a lot harder so that invasive species don’t become a problem. But we do have an infrastructure in place with ISPM-15 that can help achieve this goal. ISPM-15 has been refined since it was first instituted. There may need to be better enforcement or stricter requirements if the data shows any alarming trends. More research should be done to see how ISPM-15 can be more effective. It doesn’t take a drastic ban of solid wood packaging to keep our forests safe.
