Scrap Wood? Disposal?

[Erich Weidner]

What do folks do with their scrap? I've got a pile which is now taking up too much space in the garage. I was just cutting things down and putting it in the trash bin, but now that my projects are accelerating I'm finding I don't have the space in the trash bin to keep doing this (the garbage service won't pickup wood left on the curb, they only take it if I cut it up and fit it in the bin).

Is seems a shame to fill a landfill with it, but what else does one do with leftovers/offcuts/scrap?
None of the charities take anything that has been cut, and I understand that burning plywood is not a good idea. So aside from the solid wood which I can burn in the firepit, I'm at a loss as to how to easily dispose of waste wood. :)

Any suggestions?

PS. I just got a dust collector, so I'll now also have bags of dust to deal with.

[Bob Wingard]

Ask around for someone with a wood burning furnace or fireplace ... they'll take it for kindling if nothing else.

I have a Charmaster wood furnace and that's where ALL of my scraps go.

[scott vroom]

Ask around for someone with a wood burning furnace or fireplace ... they'll take it for kindling if nothing else.

I have a Charmaster wood furnace and that's where ALL of my scraps go.

Bob, he mentioned plywood....not a good idea to burn.

I take my plywood scrap to the landfill without shame or guilt.

[frank shic]

wood will decompose over time unlike plastic...

[Bob Wingard]

I occasionally burn small quantities of plywood in my furnace ... it's a sealed combustion chamber with a secondary (hot) burn chamber that burns off secondary gases. The little bit of adhesive that goes in there is thoroughly incinerated.

[Tom Fischer]

I burn at least a few cords of firewood every season. Project scraps go right in.
I never burn any plywood, OSB, etc.

[HANK METZ]

What do folks do with their scrap? ...

Any suggestions?

PS. I just got a dust collector, so I'll now also have bags of dust to deal with.

Auto shops would be interested in the wood offings from the collector, it makes a great non- toxic absorbent for spills. One I used to deal with was also interested in worn abrasive belts, using them for scrubbing valves, etc. It's also great stuff for neutralizing unwanted paint, just add until it becomes a dough ball, let dry, dispose in regular trash.

Lots of uses for sawdust, really.

- Beachside Hank
Do not use remaining fingers as push sticks.

[Danny Hamsley]

Put an ad in Craigslist. Someone will want it. Don't offer it for free, but ask a small amount, like $5. I sell sawdust from my portable sawmill for $10 a pick-up truck load. People that run dog kennels or have horse stalls will buy shavings if they are modestly priced.

[Matt Meiser]

In the past I've sorted out my unfinished, unglued hardwood/softwood scrap that's over ~10" and cut it to ~10" lengths for camp fires. ~10" because that's where the edge of my MS fence is and it makes a convenient gauge for chopping it up.

Everything smaller, with finish, with glue, etc goes in 2 plastic 55 gal drums and when I get a chance I burn it.

However we no longer camp so early this spring I tried giving it away for free on CL since there are a lot of people with outdoor wood furnaces around here. It went pretty quick that way, but the guy showed up with a minivan and it took about 15 minutes to load it all in there, bit by bit. I think next time I'll say they must bring a pickup or trailer we can dump it in.

If I generated enough of the ~10" pieces to make it worthwhile, I'd see about making an arrangement with a KOA campground a few miles away.

[Scott T Smith]

Solid wood scraps are either 1) burned in the BBQ, 2) converted into charcoal, for later buring in the BBQ, or 3) burned in the fireplace.

Plywood and pressure treated are thermally reduced along with leftover slabs from the sawmill....

[Michael Menzli]

What do folks do with their scrap? I've got a pile which is now taking up too much space in the garage. I was just cutting things down and putting it in the trash bin, but now that my projects are accelerating I'm finding I don't have the space in the trash bin to keep doing this (the garbage service won't pickup wood left on the curb, they only take it if I cut it up and fit it in the bin).

Is seems a shame to fill a landfill with it, but what else does one do with leftovers/offcuts/scrap?
None of the charities take anything that has been cut, and I understand that burning plywood is not a good idea. So aside from the solid wood which I can burn in the firepit, I'm at a loss as to how to easily dispose of waste wood. :)

Any suggestions?

PS. I just got a dust collector, so I'll now also have bags of dust to deal with.

While its purely personal I dont think burning plywood on a small scale will be tragic. Keep in mind there are adhesives involved so make sure you aren't down wind and if you have neighbors perhaps prepare them. Id say find an old 55 gals metal barrel and burn away.. You can use the ash as a "lime" for your lawn and garden

[Steve Kohn]

See if any Boy Scout troops in your area want the scraps, after sorting out the ply, OSB, and PT.

[Tom Walz]

School wood shop?

The kids at Triangle Lake school were pretty happy withe donation they got.

[Pat Barry]

Burn it in your wood burning fireplace (natural wood except treated). Burn it outside in your campfire - everything else except treated.

[Pat Barry]

What is thermally reduced?

[keith denbesten]

I'm not so sure the idea of small scale works when there are upwards of 6,000,000,000 of us on this little ball we're stuck on.
While its purely personal I dont think burning plywood on a small scale will be tragic. Keep in mind there are adhesives involved so make sure you aren't down wind and if you have neighbors perhaps prepare them. Id say find an old 55 gals metal barrel and burn away.. You can use the ash as a "lime" for your lawn and garden

[Matt Meiser]

Yeah, have someone drive it in a big truck many miles away to bury it in someone else's back yard, using more big equipment, where it will slowly decompose (very slowly due to the lack of oxygen as I understand) and slowly leach any chemicals into the groundwater. That does sound a lot better!

[keith denbesten]

Matt I didn't mean to start anything, but if it takes a big truck... Well, it doesn't sound like small scale. As Michael said "its purely personal"
Yeah, have someone drive it in a big truck many miles away to bury it in someone else's back yard, using more big equipment, where it will slowly decompose (very slowly due to the lack of oxygen as I understand) and slowly leach any chemicals into the groundwater. That does sound a lot better!

[Scott T Smith]

What is thermally reduced?

A process wherein the temperature of the material in question is raised to the point effecting a continual reduction of residual material.

In other words, I burn it....

<grin>

[russell lusthaus]

Keith

I think he was referring to the garbage truck that would otherwise take it to a landfill.