Eco Materials 1 MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) by Tristan Titeux
Channel: Tristan Titeux
Date: 2011-08-13

http://www.empatika.uk/blog/the-sustainability-of-mdf-wood-sheets/  Tristan Titeux introduces MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard).

If you are wondering if MDF is sustainable here is my take on the sustainability of mdf.

Just to make a point up front, although my title says "eco materials 1 MDF", I just want to say that MDF is not an eco material in it's current form, but I am pointing out what is eco and not about it in this video. So please avoid marking my video down if you don't believe that mdf is an eco material, because you are right, it isn't! So please encourage my video so more people can learn about mdf and press the thumbs up.  :)

This is the first video of many discussing available, new and not yet available eco materials for use in the construction industry and specially for use in eco bespoke fitted furniture.

Last November 2010 I decided to follow my heart and bring out an Eco option for my customers. This is something that has always been at the heart of what I do and felt that I should follow my inner beliefs that we must be more sustainable and faster than we are currently going.

So I decided to first look at the material we and the industry uses mostly along with chipboard. Similar things just different size wood particles. Mdf is much finer, denser and stronger than chipboard. But MDF contains more glue as there is more of a surface area.

Mdf uses between 10 and 15% of glue in the boards, chipboard uses 6-8% glue.

MDI based mdf contains even less glue at between 3 and 4% MDI glue, which I will talk about in the next video.

The wood comes from wood mill residue, that means when they cut logs into square timber, the pieces on the edges of the trunk are called residue and they grind this up into minute fibers that are used to make the MDF. 

Also it is made of thinnings which are trees that are plucked out to make way for the bigger, straighter, healthier looking trees to go on and grow to full maturity to be used for making planks of wood for the construction industry.

This wood comes from FSC certified forests which mean they have been managed in a responsible way, replanted every year with the same or more. Not all MDF is FSC certified so check this with your supplier.

MDF has the potential to be one of the most amazing materials because for one it uses fast growing softwood, it uses waste wood and trees no good for anything other building material apart from paper and burning.

Any other fiberous material could be mixed in with it, you could mix old recycled wood from building sites, wood crates and anything that normally would go to landfill.

Then if could be bonded together using a totally natural glue. My aim is to promote the use of such glues, boards and natural materials so that when the boards have gone through their logical life cycle which is mdf board, fitted furniture, restoration of fitted furniture, reuse, recycle into more boards and as a last resort burn directly in your home to heat your family and the aim is for it to be no more harmful than a piece of wood chopped from your garden tree.

That is the pinnacle of sustainability for this board. This is presuming that all the steps to grow and produce the board are also sustainable, such as a factory running on eco energy such as from a company called Good Energy, to the way they recycled and reuse their waste in the factory, to how it is built, how it saves and uses energy, how it contributes to it's local environment and population etc etc. This is a huge subject in itself but an important one which I am happy to talk about.

I will make another video soon about a simple example of sustainability using my chickens as an example, so look out for that, it is great.

If you would like any help, have any more questions about MDF this is in no way an exhaustive article on MDF as there is lots more to it.

Thank you for your time reading, I appreciate it.

Tristan Titeux, 14 August 2011