What do you do with plywood scraps?

[Andrew Nemeth]

Ever so often I go through my shop and clean out all the scraps that I "may use someday" so I have space to keep making sawdust. I always cut down solid wood into the size I can burn in a fireplace but I toss the plywood scraps and anything with glue/paint/finish on it in a can or dumpster. Is there a better way to dispose of this scrap? What do you all do?

[Chip Lindley]

Plywood burns too! I save all small cutoffs, hardwood, ply or mdf/pb in a 55 gal. plastic drum (or 2) for kindling next winter in my shop stove.

[Adam Strong]

So long as you don't cook over the fire, ply burn great... Not sure if there is any other good way to recycle your scraps. Certainly they could be made into pulp for paper products.

[kenneth kayser]

Burning any softwood in a fireplace can cause creosote build-up in the chimney which can cause a chimney fire.

[Neal Clayton]

make jigs.

they're perfect for hinge jigs, mortising jigs, etc.

[Bill LaPointe]

I bought a mesh type outdoor fireplace a couple of years ago. Sits in the corner of my back yard. When I start tripping over containers of stuff I take it out back and burn it. Sawdust and metal are about the only thing I have to take to the dumpster.

[Rich Engelhardt]

make jigs
+1.

Also:
- spacers,
- stop blocks,
- setup jigs for router profiles/TS blade height go-no-go
- tool holders,
- cleats,
- bases for stationary tools,
- glued edge to edge - they can be used as sacrificial cutting surfaces for cutting out templates when using an exacto, single edge razor blade or utility knife,
- Small scraps can be glued face to face, then using a hole saw, wooden "knobs" can be made by putting a carriage bolt through the hole left by the mandrel.<--the late Nicki Avrami can be thanked for that idea.

& much much more..

[Ramsey Ramco]

I have an outdoor fire pit I take it all to. Nice evening spent outside, ice cold beverage of choice sitting by the fire, for a second I think I'm in paradise:rolleyes:

[Kent A Bathurst]

trash bin.

[Myk Rian]

I save them until I get tired of them laying around. Then I toss them in the scrap bag.

[Andrew Nemeth]

What is the environmental impact of burning the glue in plywood?

[Don Alexander]

DO NOT burn MDF period !!!!! it has formaldehyde in it(among other things) which is POISON

you definitely do not want to breath that crap

plywood is also not a great thing to burn because of the toxic fumes from the glue

[Cody Colston]

DO NOT burn MDF period !!!!! it has formaldehyde in it(among other things) which is POISON

you definitely do not want to breath that crap

plywood is also not a great thing to burn because of the toxic fumes from the glue

Absolutely not! Put it in a dumpster and send it to the land fill so they can burn it, instead.

JK. I burn mine, what doesn't get used for jigs or something. But then, I'm rural and burn all my shop waste...wood and sawdust along with my yard waste that's too big to go in the compost pile.

If you are not burning it inside the house or sitting directly in the smoke and breathing it I really doubt that it will hurt you to burn it. You're not gonna live forever, anyway.

[Brandon Weiss]

Less than the impact of the vehicles required to complete the process of hauling it from your house to the land fill or wherever they haul it.

[Doug W Swanson]

I usually burn all of my scrap lumber.

If we are going to be sitting around the fire, making campfire pies or roasting marshmallows it's nothing but firewood.

If I just want to get rid of some scrap plywood, paneling, etc I'll have a fire just for that.

Doug

[Michael Schwartz]

MDF and scraps of construction grade plywood/particle board etc.. go in the dumpster.

Cabinet grade plywood scraps get saved as long as they are big enough to cut safely on the table saw.

I save pieces of baltic birch regardless of size since it is so nice for jig making etc...

Hardwood scraps that are usable get saved, and the rest get cut down to burn. From time to time I go through the good scraps and purge some of them as well.

[Don Alexander]

the point is that you definitely do not want to breath the fumes from burning MDF and probably not from burning plywood either such as you would if you burn it in your shop stove or sit around the firepit while burning it as has been mentioned by more than 1 person as how they dispose of such stuff nobody lives forever but there is no point in being careless either

just trying to help keep everyone safe and healthy as possible :)

[Bill Whig]

What is the environmental impact of burning the glue in plywood?

I would be more immediately concerned with the health impact. I wouldn't burn it.

[Mr. Jeff Smith]

Exactly why burning plywood is a bad idea. Regardless if you are cooking over it or not, plywood should not be burnt. If you can't use it, toss it. Much better for everyone in a dump than in the air.
This is true for treated lumber as well, etc. Burning plywood/mdf is no different than burning anything else that belongs in the trash.

The argument that more "bad stuff" will get put in the air hauling it to the dump is flawed at best and complete non-sense at worst. The trucks will make the trash run regardless if the ply is in there, and they have a little thing called catalytic converters.

[Brandon Weiss]

The trucks will make the trash run regardless if the ply is in there, and they have a little thing called catalytic converters.

Speaking of flawed and nonsense.....

Catalytic converters, believe it or not, do not make the vehicle pollution free. The trucks will run, yes, but how many trips will they make if everyone throws their plywood out instead of burning it? If everyone throws their stuff away instead of burning what they can will the environmental impact of the disposal be less than burning even if the added disposal means more trucks have to run more trips and more land fills fill up faster requiring more landfills to be created (along with the emissions created by the trucks/tractors required to create the landfill)? Even still, I would be willing to be that more stuff is burned by the disposal companies than you think. Just because they haul it away from you doesn't mean they don't burn it. I agree that maybe you don't want to breathe the burning fumes of plywood and MDF on a constant basis for many many years. I'd even go so conservative as to say don't burn it in your wood stove that heats your shop. But I don't think it's going to do any harm to burn your plywood and MDF scraps in your fire pit. I live in the valley of the sun so we don't burn stuff unless we have to. It's hot enough here already, don't need to add any more warmth. But if I lived in an area that justified burning for warmth or trash disposal I would without reservation.

[Rob Holcomb]

I use mine for jigs, pieces to sticker rough cut and to place between clamps and finished pieces to prevent marring. WHen I get too much scrap, I burn it.

[Mr. Jeff Smith]

Speaking of flawed and nonsense.....

Catalytic converters, believe it or not, do not make the vehicle pollution free. The trucks will run, yes, but how many trips will they make if everyone throws their plywood out instead of burning it? If everyone throws their stuff away instead of burning what they can will the environmental impact of the disposal be less than burning even if the added disposal means more trucks have to run more trips and more land fills fill up faster requiring more landfills to be created (along with the emissions created by the trucks/tractors required to create the landfill)? Even still, I would be willing to be that more stuff is burned by the disposal companies than you think. Just because they haul it away from you doesn't mean they don't burn it. I agree that maybe you don't want to breathe the burning fumes of plywood and MDF on a constant basis for many many years. I'd even go so conservative as to say don't burn it in your wood stove that heats your shop. But I don't think it's going to do any harm to burn your plywood and MDF scraps in your fire pit. I live in the valley of the sun so we don't burn stuff unless we have to. It's hot enough here already, don't need to add any more warmth. But if I lived in an area that justified burning for warmth or trash disposal I would without reservation.


As someone who spent years working in waste disposal/management I can tell you that most of your assumptions are wrong. (At least in the states of Indiana, Oregon and Colorado) Furthermore, I never claimed that trucks are pollution free, rather what I was trying to imply is that trucks have mitigation in place to remove the most harmful of pollutants.

If someone NEEDS to burn plywood in an emergency to stay warm, go for it. But I can tell you with certainty that there is less environmental impact by properly disposing of it. Google the issue, there is plenty of data out there on this subject; and while there is plenty of debate around it all the waste professionals I know that woodwork, toss the scraps. But then again, maybe they just want the business. :)