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European Union Requirements for Wood Packing Material
As of March 1, 2005, the EU has a new directive regarding imported plant or plant products including wood packaging materials (WPM). The directive states that all regulated WPM shall be made from debarked round wood and subject to one of the following treatment methods:
- Heat treatment to a minimum core temperature of 56º C for at least 30 minutes
- Methyl bromide Fumigation
A caveat to the directive is the EU's decision to postpone until March 1, 2006 the requirement that WPM be "bark-free." All WPM must still be heat treated or fumigated, however.
In the U.S. the American Lumber Standards Committee (ALSC) was chosen by the Department of Agriculture to develop a certification program for WPM that satisfies EU requirements. To show compliance with the new standards, each facility (manufacturer or recycler) must stamp their EU-compliant pallets and each certified facility has a unique stamp, which contains the certification agency logo, an abbreviation denoting the type of treatment, "US", and the facility number. This unique stamp proves compliance with ISPM 15 (see below). Premier Pallets, Inc. can provide pallets with the appropriate ALSC-approved mill stamp that proves compliance with the EU requirements for WPM.
On a more global scale, the International Plant Protection Convention passed a United Nations treaty governing 115 nations on March 15, 2002. Except for requiring "bark-free" wood, the EU's requirements mirror the IPPC's requirements, which are formally known as ISPM 15 (International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures #15), although non-EU countries will decide when to implement the treaty. ISPM 15 calls for treatment of both coniferous (softwood) and non-coniferous (hardwood) packaging materials through heat treatment or fumigation.
Pallets and other WPM meeting the treaty's requirements must have the ISPM 15 stamp. Premier Pallets can provide HT-certified pallets made from non-coniferous and/or coniferous lumber.
At this point the end user of the product is the best indicator of whether wood packaging must meet the ISPM 15 standard for port entry. Even within the IPPC nations there are differences as to proof of compliance, as some countries are requiring written documentation as well as the certification logo stamp. The NWPCA link shown below has updated information on the latest IPPC developments.
Recycled, remanufactured and/or repaired, i.e. not new, wood packaging should be re-certified and re-marked to demonstrate compliance with the treaty at the participating country's port of entry. For more information on both the European Union WPM and the IPPC requirements, the links below are helpful.
http://www.palletenterprise.com/pests/
NWPCA IPPC Updates
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