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Sawdust Disposal

5K views 33 replies 30 participants last post by  dpop24 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
What do you do with your sawdust? for that matter, those of you that don't have a stove, what do you do with the small scraps?

Our city picks it all up with the green leaves and grass, but that's only been recently. I'v curious if there is a 'good' use for all this.
 
#7 ·
Like you our trash collection picks up the "green bin". They have started taking all kinds of kitchen compose in addition to the grass and shrubbery clippings. The guy actually stopped while I was working in my shop (aka garage) and told me they will also take scrap wood along with my bagged sawdust. So, I'm set.

However, if your city pickup doesn't do this try a local garden club. I use to provide them with sawdust which they then added to some compost bin. Apparently they liked it. The small scraps of wood I always put into the green bin. The thought behind that was if they cutoffs from a tree limb - they'll take my cutoffs.

The local school provides sawdust to be used by farmers for use in horse/cow stalls.
 
#9 ·
I give mine to a mechanic friend.. he uses it for floor dry to clean up oil spills.. you have to be carefull using it for animal bedding as walnut sawdust does bad stuff to horses when they stand in it.

Gator
 
#10 ·
Walnut dust isn't just bad for horses.
It's also toxic to most other plants.
Not much grows underneath walnut trees.

Lost of different sawdusts are toxic in various ways.

Back when I had a garden I used to go behind the local Starbucks and pick up big bags of spent coffee grounds from their green bins. (It's normally picked up by the recycle truck but they don't mind at all if you do it for them.) I'd mix the coffee with my sawdust, lawn clippings, kitchen waste etc. and make absolutely incredible compost. The combination attracted worms by the thousands.
Among other things, I grew delphiniums a full 8 feet tall using that stuff. I don't know about where you live, but that's fairly amazing around here.
Definitely compost it if you can.
 
#12 ·
All my shavings and dust goes into my neighbours and our composter.
Once your neighbours see how nice a compost it makes they will ask for it.
If composting and you are putting in lawn clippings layers of sawdust stop them becoming a layer of slime and my worms seem to flourish.
I don't give it to anyone for animals as my dust and shavings are mixed. Shavings are a different matter. I however tell folk to remove the dust first.
In winter I burn it. I use a snorkel in my wood-burning stove this stops the sawdust smothering the flame.
When it is burned the ashes are very popular with gardeners who use this potash on flowers and vegetables. Don't use it on the garden if you use coal.
Offcuts burn. But remember your offcuts are a treasure to pen-makers. I've several folk who collect the offcuts one makes jewellery and I'm sure within LJ's a share could be done for shipping cost.

Jamie
 
#15 ·
I use some of it for fire starters for fireplace fires. I mix it with melted wax and pack it into egg carton compartments and let it harden. Then you can just break off one of the 12 cups and put it in the fireplace and light it…works great and no smoke. The rest goes in the compost.
 
#16 ·
I got in a big arguement with my city's sanitation dept. They told me they can't take sawdust in our yard waste program. Said that sawdust doesn't break down like green grass, leaves, green and dead limbs. I asked how that even made sense. Samy types of wood as dead limbs and it's already chewed up. No dice. They won't take it. Told me to send it to the landfill. Go figure. For a forward looking communtiy we've got some backward thinking people running things. Still looking for a reasonable alternative.
 
#17 ·
Darell,
that would apply to coffee grinds as well then. :)
I wonder what they would say to that?
Jamie
 
#19 ·
Dust, chips, and shavings, non toxics get used as mulch, toxics get bagged up and put with the green waste.

cutoffs get saved up and burned in the fire pit on the patio, unless it was a nut or fruit bearing hardwood, particularly apple, mesquite, or pecan, those cutoffs go in the smoker for Texas smoked BBQ brisket…
 
#25 ·
Yeah, we started making fire starters a number of years ago. It was kind of funny because I had been using newspaper to start the fire and would always get smoke in the room. Once I switched to the homemade fire starters, no smoke. We have friends that do a lot of garage sales and have connections to churches so they pick up all the used candles they can find for us so we have a great program going on. :)
Last month we made 24 dozen starters.
 
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