Reclaimed and recycled wood is outside the EUDR only if your file proves it

Oct 27

5 min read

Updated: Oct 28

"Recycled" or "reclaimed" on an invoice is a description. It is not evidence. That small distinction is where most out-of-scope claims under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will come apart.

Wood made from material that has finished its first life can sit outside the EUDR. For a business that handles a lot of recovered or second-hand timber, that can lift a large part of the due diligence work before the regulation applies on 30 December 2026. But an exemption is a legal position. A customer or an inspector will expect you to show the basis for it, product by product.

Most such claims fail on the evidence, not on the law. The material may well be exempt. The file simply does not show it.

The exemption is real, and it has just grown

The original regulation, (EU) 2023/1115, stated in Annex I that it does not apply to goods produced entirely from material that has completed its lifecycle and would otherwise have been discarded as waste under Article 3(1) of the Waste Framework Directive. By-products of a manufacturing process using material that was not waste are excluded from that exemption. That covers offcuts and sawdust from a mill working fresh timber.

On 13 July 2026 the Commission adopted a delegated act rewriting the product list. It was published as Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2102 on 17 September 2026. It adds general exclusions for waste within the meaning of the Waste Framework Directive, for used and second-hand products and their components, and for packing material while it is being used to carry, protect or support another product. In its review of 4 May 2026 the Commission estimated that scope changes would cut compliance costs by 6.8%. It put 4.6 points of that down to the waste, used and second-hand exclusion alone. Check the consolidated Annex I on EUR-Lex for the exact wording against your own commodity codes.

This is not a marginal trade

Recovered wood is a large stream in the UK, which is why this matters to UK businesses. The Wood Recyclers' Association's figures for 2025, published in June 2026, show 4.0 million tonnes of waste wood processed. That is 89% of all the waste wood generated in the UK. Of it, 927,000 tonnes went to panel board manufacture. Much of the chipboard and other board made from it ends up in furniture, kitchens and shopfitting. Some of those goods are sold into the EU. Some go to Northern Ireland, where the EUDR applies from 30 December 2026 under the Windsor Framework.

Mixed products are where the claim breaks

The hard cases are products that are partly recycled and partly virgin. Think of board with fresh chip in the mix, or furniture that combines reclaimed boards with new frames. The Commission's FAQ, as summarised by the European paper industry body Cepi in February 2024, takes a clear line. No obligation applies to the recycled share. The virgin share is in scope, and must be traced to its plot of origin with geolocation. Cepi also noted that the FAQ did not say explicitly whether pre-consumer scrap, such as converting waste, counts as recycled. Treat that as an open point, unless the guidance you are relying on settles it.

Repairs work the same way. Trade commentary on the 2026 changes says a pallet already in circulation stays outside scope. New boards added in a repair need due diligence, but for the new wood only. A new pallet sold as a product in its own right is in scope.

The second weak point is wording. "Recycled" or "reclaimed" on an invoice does not show that the material was waste or used goods. It does not show where it came from. Nor does it show that nothing else was mixed in.

If you are relying on an exemption, the exemption needs a file of its own.

Four lines for every product you call exempt

For each product line you treat as outside the EUDR, the file should answer four things in plain words:

Which exclusion applies: waste, used or second-hand goods, packing material, or a commodity code not listed in Annex I. Give the reference and the date you checked it.
What shows the material qualifies: waste transfer notes, supplier declarations naming the source, demolition or clearance records, or chain-of-custody certificates for recycled content.
Whether anything virgin is in it: the share, the supplier, and the due diligence reference number for that share.
When it was last reviewed, and what would trigger a new review, such as a new supplier, a change of recipe or a new commodity code.

Keep each entry short enough for someone else in the business to follow. If a line cannot be answered, treat the product as in scope until it can.

Britain is going its own way, slowly

The rules differ by market, and they are still moving. Great Britain is heading for its own regime. On 23 June 2026 Defra said it would introduce rules under Schedule 17 of the Environment Act 2021 for businesses with turnover above £1m. They would be broadly in line with the EUDR's information requirements. A consultation is expected later in 2026, and legislation in 2027. Freshfields notes that how far the rules reach into derived products will be one of the main questions for that consultation. How Great Britain treats recycled and second-hand material is not yet settled.

Where to begin

List every product you currently describe as reclaimed, recycled, used or out of scope, with its commodity code and main supplier.
Run the four-line test on each, starting with the highest-volume lines and any you sell into Northern Ireland or the EU.
For blended products, ask suppliers in writing for the virgin share and its due diligence reference before December.
Replace loose invoice wording with a standard supplier declaration on material origin, and keep the supporting documents with it.
Check the consolidated Annex I, the Commission's latest FAQ and Defra's consultation as they appear. This describes the rules as of October 2026; it is not legal advice.

Sources

Figures are taken from the sources listed and were correct at the time of writing. Where rules are described, check the latest official guidance and take qualified advice before acting.