# Sawdust disposal



## spclPatrolGroup (Jun 23, 2010)

So what does everyone do with their sawdust once their collector is full? I would like to throw it in the yard or garden, is there any concerns with doing this? I know Walnut dust is an herbacide, any thing else? I was told to dump it in a pile outside for a year first, but I dont know why that would be. Am I missing any other uses for sawdust other than mulch? I have trouble throwing things away when it seems there should be some kind of use for it.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

This last winter, I poured a mound of sawdust in the middle of the fireplace, place pine cones, other kindling over that, squirted with charcoal lighter fluid, etc.

I was surprised!! It ended up burning real slow and got really red like coals… and kept the fire burning a lot longer!

Most of mine was from Poplar & Oak… there was some Ply in there too… It burned really well!

I plan on burning more this next winter!


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## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

I use it for mulch for contolling weeds around my yard. Works great!


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

I have heard that it can attract termites…


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## Eagle1 (Jan 4, 2010)

I have a friend that i give it to. She has horses, she uses it for bedding in her trailer..


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## GaryC (Dec 31, 2008)

I mix some of it with candle wax to make starter logs…gotta wrap it in paper. The rest gets a trip to the burn pile


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## donbee (Feb 7, 2009)

A word of caution about bedding for horses.
Black walnut is taboo for the purpose.
The horses, I'm told by a horse owner, get a severe hoof disease from black walnut and sometimes have to be destroyed.

Don

ps
This how I came to score a great collection of large black walnut boards fro a guy whose wife had horses. She wouldn't let him keep it under any circumstances.

d


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## Eric_S (Aug 26, 2009)

I've heard mixed things about using it in yards due to issues with certain woods (if you don't use those woods though then no biggy of course).

The best solution I can find is to create fire starters or even fuel logs (think duraflame but not as good) out of them. You could make a ton of them with a full bag of sawdust and give them as gifts in the winter.

Fire Starters:
http://www.instructables.com/id/The-world-best-fire-starter/

Fuel Briquettes:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bio-fuel-briquettes-compress-paper-pulp-and-sawdu/

Also, this comes from This Old House, 10 Uses for Sawdust
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,20163668,00.html


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## Knothead62 (Apr 17, 2010)

I tossed some sawdust on a burn pile this spring. I am aware of the flash point of fine particles in places like a feed mill but this really surprised me! When I tossed the SD on the fire, it flashed like I had poured gasoline on it!


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## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

I use it as ground cover and to control weeds back behind my shed. We live on the north side of a high bluff and our back yard is heavily wooded. Nothing (except weeds) grows back there, so I dump my dust collector back there.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

*Never throw sawdust directly onto a fire!

Put it on BEFORE it is lit.*


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## chewbuddy13 (May 28, 2009)

Many of you are correct to not throw sawdust on a fire. Check out this youtube video, it is not faked (the Mythbusters did an episode on it, and were able to replicate it).


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

I had been using it as mulch when I was doing nothing but oak, pine, and cedar. Since I started using Walnut, Osage Orange, and a few other exotics, I simply take it to a friend's property and throw it on his burn pile.


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## Greedo (Apr 18, 2010)

i have a few people who come and pick some up for their animals, and the rest i am filling "big bags" with it, 1000liter volumes. or spread it in my vegetable garden for weed control.
but that's not ideal since i read that wood fibers are complex to break down for bacteria, and they need alot of NH4 to break it down, wich causes your ground to become less fertile when you incorporate wood fibers!


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## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

I vote making a fireball cannon like on Mythbusters! Hehehehehehhh…...

(nod to scottymann


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## Howie (May 25, 2010)

Make sure you don't have any treated lumber mixed in with it if you plan on putting it on the yard.


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## Knothead62 (Apr 17, 2010)

Joe Lyddon, thanks. I'm not the brightest candle on the cake but I did learn not to throw 
SD on a fire!


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## juniorjock (Feb 3, 2008)

Joe is right about the termites too. I like to recycle and didn't want to pitch the saw dust I had. I knew it wouldn't be good for the compost pile, so after some advice here and on GT, I put it on my garden paths. Was ok last year….. this year….... it is thick with termites. And it is way to close to the house.


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## wseand (Jan 27, 2010)

I will either burn it or just spread it around the property. It helps break down the clay in he yard.


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

Trash is the best place, burning it can cause a chimney fire.


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## KentS (May 27, 2009)

Makes great filler for hamburger when the in-laws are coming over.

(Just kidding--Do Not Try This, as tempting as it is)


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

*weeks . Once in a while the pile should be turned . Experiment with the water application so as to just keep the biology alive ( hot and steamy inside ). In a few months it is reduced to a black compost that THEN is applied around the yard . There are many derivations of this . I consider mill/shop waste very valuable as a soil builder when used properly .

-Work safe - Rob*

That sounds like a very good way to do it…


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## LateNightOwl (Aug 13, 2009)

I save mine to spread on the deck to give my dogs a toilet area in the winter. Beats shoveling snow in the yard and it's easy cleanup. It gives me some traction to walk when it gets icy, too.


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## Lenny (Sep 28, 2008)

Hey Kent, I laughed out loud when I read your response. Too funny! I am not sure what is done these days but I played basketball in high school and every night when practice or a game ended, the janitor would sweep the floor. Before he did so, he used to throw down a line of wood chips, obtained from the school wood shop, at one end of the gym. As he pushed the wide dust mop up and down the floor, he would push the wood chips too. Apparently they assisted in grabbing dirt and dust off the floor. From there I am sure it was simply thrown in the trash but at least it had a second use. It might be worth asking the local high school if they can use your sawdust/chips.


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## dfdye (Jan 31, 2010)

I put my sawdust in the vegetable garden compost pile if it doesn't contain any chemical additives (IE sheet goods) or walnut. I make sure to empty the dust cans when I mow the grass so that I can mix in a bunch of nitrogen-rich grass with the carbon rich wood to make a good compost mix. If this gets nice and wet, it actually breaks down pretty quickly if it is turned into an established compost pile.

If I have some MDF or plywood dust mixed in, I save it for layering in our dog waste compost (talk about a nitrogen rich balance to the wood!) since I make sure to only use this compost on flowers or the yard-nowhere near any dirt that will grow something we want to eat. Though there are still some synthetic chemicals in this mix that the composting process won't break down, I have to admit to using chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides occasionally, so I am not going to worry too much about the chemicals from the wood products.

If I generate dust that is primarily MDF, ply, treated lumber, or an irritating wood like walnut, I will use that for starting fires in our outdoor fire pit. The only thing I save for the landfill is treated lumber since there really is no safe way to mitigate the metal content of the dust that I know of.

I really like the idea of using walnut dust as a filler for patio bricks to keep weeds out. I'll have to try that the next time I have a walnut project.


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## dedalo (Jun 20, 2010)

I have worms (red californian) and give it to them… they eat it and produce humus for the yard… they can eat a lot of saw dust together with fruit and vegetable scraps, I use them to recycle lots of the food rest. They just need your scrap and live from it. you will get a full can of humus every 3 or 4 months, no smells…


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

Putting it directly into the garden isnt a great idea as the sawdust pulls the nitrogen out of the soil. I use mine for garden paths as it keeps the weeds down.


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## KentS (May 27, 2009)

Mary Anne, I was half asleep when I read your post. I thought you said *desk!*-WOW
( I quickly reread and was relieved)

"I save mine to spread on the deck to give my dogs a toilet area in the winter."


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## LateNightOwl (Aug 13, 2009)

LOL, Kent! My dogs are pampered and spoiled, but I don't go quite that far! 

I need to try dfdye's compost idea.


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## capnbobbo (Jun 15, 2010)

Take a little powdered coffee creamer in the palm of your hand and mist it over a bic lighter to see the combustability of fine particulates. Hold your hand a couple feet above flame and mist as fine as possible.


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## spclPatrolGroup (Jun 23, 2010)

So if I am getting all of this, dont put it directly on the yard, let it decompost first, sawdust does awsome things when trown on a fire, it makes a good doggie crapper, you can make logs out of it with wax, termites and worms find it nummy, and I have to now go find coffee creamer and a lighter.


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## 559dustdesigns (Sep 23, 2009)

I am surprised I didn't see the old oil spill use for saw dust. You know after you do an oil change in the middle of the drive way and the old filter is leaking out on the cement, just dump some saw dust on the spill and let the saw dust absorb the used oil. Than broom it in to the used oil container to be dumped at a proper disposal place like at Auto zone.

As I was writing this I thought it would be funny if those screw ups at BP could use a bunch of our saw dust and cap off there pipe line in the gulf oil spill. LOL


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Good idea!


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## D1st (Jan 28, 2010)

Put the saw dust into panty hose and use them for booms to suck the oil up on the coast. After they've soaked up all the oil they can, use them for a burning source such as fire logs and what not. I bet this would help in the clean up on the coast. Saw dust is free after the wood is used.


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## Knothead62 (Apr 17, 2010)

Lenny, we at LJ get sawdust free but if you go to an industrial or janitorial supply, you would pay big bucks for sweeping comound. I used to help a friend clean a small shopping mall. He used some stuff that was nothing more than green sawdust!


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