Cascading use is the efficient utilisation of resources by using residues and recycled materials for material use to extend total biomass availability within a given system. From a technical perspective the cascading use of wood takes place when wood is processed into a product and this product is used at least once more either for material or energy purposes.

• In a single stage cascade, wood is processed into a product and this product is used once more for energy purposes.
• In a multi-stage cascade, wood is processed into a product and this product is used at least once more in material form before disposal or recovery for energy purposes.

Vis M., U. Mantau, B. Allen (Eds.) (2016), Study on the optimised cascading use of wood.No 394/PP/ENT/RCH/14/7689. Final report. Brussels 2016. 337 pages

Source category: EC Technical Documents

Cascading is a complex concept, but put simply, it means that natural resources should be used and recycled for as long as possible, and allocated to the most valuable purposes possible at each stage.

Olsson, O. (2017). Cascading of woody biomass: The tricky path from principle to policy to practice. SEI discussion brief.

Source category: Scientific & Technical Literature

In line with the principle of the cascading use of biomass, woody biomass should be used according to its highest economic and environmental added value in the following order of priorities: wood-based products, extending the service life of wood-based products, re-use, recycling, bioenergy and disposal. Where no other use for woody biomass is economically viable or environmentally appropriate, energy recovery helps to reduce energy generation from non-renewable sources.

EU, 2018, Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (recast)

Source category: EU Legislation

Cascading refers to consecutive exploitation of resources for multiple ends, typically through various phases of material usage before the final energy production processes (Campbell-Johnston et al., 2020). Cascade principle of biomass utilization arises from forestry sector (Keegan et al., 2013), starting from the assumption that environmental pollution and resource depletion are the result of inadequate and wasteful resource exploitation (Sirkin and Ten Houten, 1994). Objective of cascade utilization is optimization of resource efficiency and environmental impact reduction (Keegan et al., 2013), attempting to postpone the final sinks of energy recovery and disposal by exploiting biomass for high-value applications in higher cascade levels for longer periods (Kalverkamp et al., 2017).

Laura Aguado-González, Jorge Sierra-Pérez, Claudio Forte, Ignacio López-Forniés, Simone Blanc, Cascade valorization of hazelnut industry by-products for industrial use through co-creative processes, Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 494, 2025, 144989, ISSN 0959-6526, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.144989

Source category: Scientific & Technical Literature