Waste disposal for urban woodworkers

[Steven Mikes]

I'm on the hook for a local move next year from my 0.4 acre suburban lot to a pseudo-urban development with postage stamp lots. I currently dispose of my shavings, dust, and excess scraps by either burning in the fire pit or tossing in the compost bin. Pretty sure there will be space for neither at the new place. How do you urban woodworkers handle waste?

[Bruce Haugen]

I live in a small town, 14,000 people, but with a standard quarter acre lot. I generate a lot of waste, 10-15 boxes per year, and I give them to friends who live in the country and have wood-burning heating outfits.

[Dennis Cloutier]

I used to advertise mine on craigslist or the local equivalent. Some people use it for fuel or pet bedding.

[George Bokros]

I am a hobbyist and my residential waste disposal take my sawdust and scrap (scrap must be 4 ft long or shorter).

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Use it to start my charcoal, kindling for my fireplace, or just burn it in my fire pit in the back yard (or the neighbor’s).

[Brian Holcombe]

Local biodigester used the planer shavings to aureate their compost.

[James Waldron]

Local biodigester used the planer shavings to aureate their compost.

Do they paint or gild their compost? Or do you want to blame your spell checker? :rolleyes:

aureate

adjective

1 Made of or having the colour of gold.


Oxford English Dictionary
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/aureate

[Edwin Santos]

Local biodigester used the planer shavings to aureate their compost.


Do they paint or gild their compost? Or do you want to blame your spell checker? :rolleyes:

aureate

adjective

1 Made of or having the colour of gold.

Oxford English Dictionary
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/aureate



I don't think it was a mistake. Everything that man touches is gold.

[Brian Holcombe]

Hah, Thank Apple for that one :D

[glenn bradley]

Green barrel for saw dust. Scrap goes to work for folks who camp or have fire pits.

[Andrew Seemann]

I used to live in the city on a 40' x 140' lot. Sawdust and shavings got put into a construction trash bag and put next to the garbage can and was picked up by the trash people. Solid scrap got burned in my little outdoor fireplace. Plywood and treated wood got cut down to fit the trash can. If I had a large load of trash from remodeling, Mpls had a waste transfer station for residents that I would use. Solvents and paint went to the county hazardous waste facility.

I'm on a 2.5 acre lot at the end of suburbia/beginning of rural now and disposing of woodworking waste isn't much different, other than the dust and shavings get composted and the solids go in the wood stove in the shop or fire ring.

[chris carter]

If I'm sure my shavings are uncontaminated I put them in the yard trim recycling. Otherwise, those and solid pieces typically go in the trash.

A note about pet bedding because someone brought it up - you have to be really careful because there are a lot of species of wood that are actually toxic to small animals when used as bedding in cages.

[Mike Lemon]

Walnut shavings are toxic for horses. Like others have said, be very careful if giving away sawdust or shavings for bedding.

[Andy Jungblut]

I put my shavings in garbage bags and take them to my local UPS store. The manager there loves the shavings as packing material.

[Andrew Seemann]

I put my shavings in garbage bags and take them to my local UPS store. The manager there loves the shavings as packing material.

Also known as "excelsior".

[Jim Koepke]

Also known as "excelsior".

Back in the day before packing peanuts just about everything was shipped in excelsior.

jtk

[Wayne Cannon]

Our recycler will not accept sawdust in the bio-waste bin. All shop debris goes in the household waste bin, except hardwoods, which go into the fireplace.

Sawdust is not good for a compost heap unless accompanied by a significant amount of, I believe, lime.

[Pat Barry]

I put my shavings in garbage bags and take them to my local UPS store. The manager there loves the shavings as packing material.
Unbelievable...

[Steven Mikes]

Back in the day before packing peanuts just about everything was shipped in excelsior.

jtk

I learn so many things from this forum

[Mike Henderson]

I give away my cuttoff scrap to a friend who uses it when camping. My shaving and sanding dust goes into the green waste recycle bin. They put all the green waste through a grinder at the recycle place anyway so it all comes out as mulch.

Mike

[Bill Houghton]

Do they paint or gild their compost? Or do you want to blame your spell checker? :rolleyes:

aureate

adjective

1 Made of or having the colour of gold.

Oxford English Dictionary
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/aureate


I'd better not tell our local sell us yard waste/buy our compost company, or they'll want to start doing it, too.
398580
I've even got the brand name for them: Sonoma Gold.

[Bill Houghton]

I put my shavings in garbage bags and take them to my local UPS store. The manager there loves the shavings as packing material.
There's always the New York solution: put the offcuts and shavings in a box, wrap it up like a present, and leave it in your unlocked car downtown for someone to steal.

Useful for zucchini, too, of course.

[Andrew Seemann]

Sawdust is not good for a compost heap unless accompanied by a significant amount of, I believe, lime.

Sawdust/shavings will pull the nitrogen out of it. The gardening and permie sites have lots of details on how to offset the nitrogen issue; lime may or may not do it depending on the overall chemistry of the compost. Lime is usually more for reducing acidity in soil.

[Curt Harms]

I've given bags of planer shavings to the local animal rescue place. Only cherry, oak or SPF though. Walnut or unknown get a bag change and that goes into the trash.

[Bob Andre]

Just realized how fortunate I am to live in the country. Shavings and sawdust in the manure spreader or horse stall depending on species. Solid wood in the wood furnace. Everything else to residential waste pickup. My lumber is all rough sawn that I log and mill so lots of shavings.

[Bob Glenn]

Put all the shavings in an Amazon shipping box with address label showing, tape it up and leave it on your front porch. Depending on your neighborhood, it will be stolen by "porch pirates" before the end of the day.

[steven c newman]

Mine go into a 30 gal. trash can...when that gets full....it goes outside to the firepit ( and I live almost in the center of town)....if anyone complains..I can set a grill grate over the fire, and roast hotdogs. We have times that burning isn't allowed, but, after 6:30pm...burning is legal to do. Usually empty the trashcan from the shop after each project is completed....

[Steven Lee, NC]

I put the sawdust and floor sweepings into black trash bags. Scraps I will saw into arm length pieces and toss them in there. My trash service has a truck that has arms to empty the bins so they have no idea how heavy it is. Im a hobbyiest so at worst it takes me 2-3 weeks to rid myself of scraps by spreading them out