Disposal of wood chippings

[Hornbeam]

My local tip were very unhappy the other day when I skipped 12 bin bags of wood chippings from the planer. The work is all for me and I am not trade. What are other peoples experiences and how do you dispose off your waste

 

[Spectric]

Makes good compost, look for your local allotments.

 

[rogxwhit]

I've given softwood planer chip to stables for horse bedding. Hardwood was held to be too dusty. But the best arrangement was having woodwaste collected by someone who had a briquetting machine, because he took all species including sawdust, and I got a healthy discount from him on briquettes.

Historically I gave sawdust to a butcher to use on his floors as anti-slip - very traditional - and got free sausages in return, but eventually EH put a stop to it in their beaurocratic way, and that was that.

 

[guineafowl21]

My local tip were very unhappy

In my experience, local tips would rather no-one tipped anything.

Planer chips make good animal bedding, mulch, compost. Will burn quite well on a bonfire. Sometimes they’re advertised free on the side of the road.

 

[Phill05]

Find a local farmer great for bedding animals on.
Or a gardener makes good compost.
What about the free lists/ recycleit there is always someone looking out for compost materials

 

[Daniel2]

I belive that people like to use it in permaculture beds.

 

[Jacob]

I burn all mine and heat the building, though I don't produce so much nowadays.
It burns really well in the right shaped burner - needs to have large footprint to give a large surface area to burn - ideally a pyramid sort of shape. Also needs a wide door so you can get the stuff in easily.
Mines a Dowling Sumo. Not designed for the job but has the right shape.
PS just had a flip through to see what's available but they all seem to be cylindrical and burn from the middle. Exactly the wrong shape - they need to be approaching conical so that there's a large surface area burning from the top of the heap.

 

[johnnyb]

they have rules and the shavings go in either waste wood or compostable. they can't object because it's a nuisance or any other whimsical reason. for instance I always try and keep some wood on any windows because then i can pitch them in the waste wood. oh no we can't take any glass " it's a window frame" oh put it in the waste wood then.

 

[TRITON]

 

[Keith 66]

Mix it with compost & grow potatoes in tubs, put in compost heap. If its oak chippings smoke fish or find someone who has a smoker.

 

[Doug71]

Someone who has horses takes most of mine, they mix my wood shavings with some larger chippings that they buy, apparently the mix soaks stuff up better than just the big chippings.

I also burn some on my wood burner. When I have time I stuff them in 12"x12" brown paper bags to burn, saves dust in the living room. When I can't be bothered I just put a shovel full at a time on the fire, burns fine if you mix a few bits of wood in with it.

 

[Lorenzl]

I skipped 12 bin bags of wood

That's your problem; one or two bags at a time wouldn't have caused a problem
I put mine in the compost or if I get a lot it goes in the green wheelie bin.

I read the other day that sawdust is good for strawberries when they are fruiting.

 

[Ollie78]

Be careful giving it to people for animals, horses can get some kind of asthma from some hardwoods and rabbits and things can be allergic to some.
Chickens don`t care though.

I try to mix as much as I can into the compost with the grass clippings and it makes nice compost. Makes a good mulch on flower beds etc.

Ollie

 

[MikeJhn]

If I remember correctly MDF residue from a planer is not good for bedding for any animal, or mulching or compost, the formaldehyde content is toxic?

 

[Doris]

I try to mix as much as I can into the compost with the grass clippings and it makes nice compost. Makes a good mulch on flower beds etc.

Ollie

I was going to say to the OP if you do compost it mix it with as much nitrogen based waste as possible, such as grass clippings. Kiln dried wood has a higher carbon number than say a branch just cut off of a tree. I've heard of people mixing wood shavings with urine to get the C:N ratio right so that the shavings will break down as I find that if you just tip them into the compost bin as is they tend to compact and not rot down at all.

In my garden I have a path along my hedge for maintenance uses and I tend to chuck all my chippings from my lathe there. All my sawdust is piled up in areas where I don't want weeds to grow. Woodshavings are now given to two local potters I know who use them to smoke fire their pots in a large garden incinerator.

I did have a friend who was asking me a few years back to keep sawdust aside for her composting toilet on her canal barge but that didn't last very long.

 

[Craig22]

If I remember correctly MDF residue from a planer is not good for bedding for any animal, or mulching or compost, the formaldehyde content is toxic?

My cousin Roy was head carpenter in the movie industry (Superman and Fish called Wanda were two of his). Most movie sets were, and possibly still are, made from MDF. Painted to look like anything at all. Years of breathing MDF dust wrecked his lungs and killed him in his mid 50's, while on a Bond shoot in the Philippines.

MDF dust is seriously bad news - and not just for animals.

 

[stuart little]

That's your problem; one or two bags at a time wouldn't have caused a problem
I put mine in the compost or if I get a lot it goes in the green wheelie bin.

I read the other day that sawdust is good for strawberries when they are fruiting.

I prefer cream on my strawberries! & custard on my rhubarb, rather than manure!

 

[accipiter]

they have rules and the shavings go in either waste wood or compostable. they can't object because it's a nuisance or any other whimsical reason. for instance I always try and keep some wood on any windows because then i can pitch them in the waste wood. oh no we can't take any glass " it's a window frame" oh put it in the waste wood then.

The recycling centre on the trading estate at the back of where I live tell us to put glass in with the metal recycling. If in wooden window frames they'd "like/appreciate" it - but don't require it - if we removed the glass so the wood can go with wood and glass panes in the metal skip. Funny how some places have differing rules on objects being recycled. Try and do your bit and..

 

[accipiter]

Any and all wood chippings and wood dust goes in the gardening waste skip for eventual composting at the recyclingcentre. We've a young cat and use the more environmentally friendly wood pellets for her dirt tray. These also get put in the gardening waste skip... after previously removing the "solids"...

 

[Henniep]

There are many many uses for chippings and sawdust and many people who don't know where to get it. Advertising yours will solve their problem and yours!