According to a report (#RP-186) from Business Communications Company, the North American market for wood plastic composites (WPC) in 2004 was 1.2 billion pounds (545 billion kilograms) per year, and growing at a rate of 9.8% per year. Wood-plastic composites (WPC) are primarily used in decking.
Several forces are driving the WPC market. One is the wide acceptance of the products by consumers, who see them as reducing the need to harvest trees and also as a suitable use for the plastic bottles and bags that they recycle. Another is the phase-out of a common arsenic-copper wood preservative, and its replacement by less-effective alternatives.
Several large forest-products companies have moved into the WPC market, thereby lending their marketing muscle to the products.
A frequently-disadvantageous characteristic of wood fibers is that they are relatively short. Longer fibers can be found in other plants, including fibers from leaves and bast fibers from stalks.