Woodchipping in Australia

Historically, the primary sources of wood chips in Australia have been the extensive Eucalyptus hardwood forests found throughout temperate areas of the country.

[citation needed] During the late 1960s and 1970s, the high demand for paper and the relatively low cost and availability of the native forests made the establishment of a woodchipping industry a viable proposition.

[2] Wood chips, as a byproduct of the timber industry, have been used in many ways for centuries, for example as a material for the production of wallpaper or as a disposable floor covering in butchers shop or drinking houses.

[citation needed] The separation of the chipping stage and the pulping and paper mills required the supply of energy usually sourced from byproducts of the process.

[4] Following decades of campaigning by environmental groups and others commercial forestry within native forests, including for woodchipping, was ended in Western Australia and eastern Victoria in 2024.