Waterlogged deposits show that it all started almost 500,000 years ago.1 Yes, humans have been using wood as a construction material for that long. To this day, wood is one of the most popular building materials due to its versatility, natural look, and incredible strength-to-weight ratio. With the ramp up of large scale construction projects, wood consumption is growing. And it generates a significant amount of waste. Sawdust at the local lumber mill, offcuts from construction sites, and arborist work all contribute.
Fortunately, advances in shredding technology have made it possible to transform this waste into valuable resources. You might be surprised how recognizable some of these everyday uses of shredded wood waste are.
Where Does Wood Waste Come From?
While not a comprehensive list. Here are some of the major sources of wood waste:
- Sawmills and Lumberyards: During the milling process, wood is cut into planks, beams, and boards, leaving behind sawdust, bark, and offcuts.
- Construction and Demolition: Building projects generate waste from offcuts, damaged timber, and old wooden structures that are torn down.
- Manufacturing: Furniture production, cabinetry, and flooring companies produce wood scraps and shavings.
- Forestry Operations: Pruned branches, tree trunks, and other residues from logging activities contribute to the wood waste stream.
- Municipal Waste: Wooden pallets, crates, and even discarded furniture collected from urban areas often end up as waste.
Oftentimes, there is not an effective wood waste management system to take care of all this waste. Managing this wood waste sustainably can reduce environmental impact and unlock hidden profitability.
Wood Waste Management: Shredding
Wood shredding is the process of reducing wood waste into smaller pieces. While this might seem insignificant, just as crushing cinnamon sticks into powder allows cinnamon to be added to thousands of dishes, wood shredding allows clunky wood pieces to be repurposed. Here’s how it typically works:
- Collection and Sorting: Wood waste is gathered and sorted to remove contaminants such as nails, screws, and non-wood materials.
- Primary Shredding: Large pieces of wood are fed into wood shredder machines equipped with sharp blades that chop them into smaller chunks.
- Secondary Shredding: For finer applications, the wood is passed through a secondary wood shredder or wood grinder to achieve the desired size and consistency.
- Screening and Cleaning: The shredded wood is screened to remove oversized pieces and further cleaned to ensure quality.
The resulting product—shredded wood—is a versatile material that can be repurposed for various uses, reducing waste and creating new opportunities.
Five Everyday Uses of Shredded Wood Waste
- Mulch for Landscaping
Shredded wood is a popular choice for landscaping mulch. It helps retain soil moisture, suppress weeds, and regulate soil temperature. Homeowners and professional landscapers alike use it to enhance garden aesthetics and improve plant health. Colored mulch, made by dyeing shredded wood, has become particularly popular for decorative purposes. - Animal Bedding
Farms and stables use shredded wood as bedding for livestock, such as horses, cows, and foul. It is soft, absorbent, and helps control odors. Shredded wood also decomposes naturally, making it an eco-friendly option compared to synthetic alternatives. - Compost and Soil Amendment
Shredded wood can be added to compost heaps as a carbon-rich ingredient, balancing nitrogen-heavy materials like food scraps. When mixed into soil, it improves aeration and water retention, making it a valuable amendment for gardens and agricultural fields. - Biomass Fuel
Wood waste can be converted into biomass fuel, an eco-friendly alternative to fossil fuels. Shredded wood is used in industrial boilers and biomass power plants to produce heat and electricity. It’s also compressed into pellets or briquettes for residential heating systems. - Playground Surfacing
Many playgrounds and parks use shredded wood as a safety surfacing material. It provides cushioning to reduce the risk of injury from falls, is cost-effective, and environmentally friendly. Treated and certified wood chips help meet safety standards.
Turning Shredded Wood Waste into Profit
For businesses, investing in wood shredding equipment and operations can be a profitable venture. Here’s how:
- Selling Mulch and Soil Products: Landscaping businesses, garden centers, and nurseries are always in demand for quality mulch and soil amendments. Selling dyed or untreated shredded wood as mulch is a reliable revenue stream.
- Partnering with Farms and Stables: By providing animal bedding, businesses can cater to agricultural customers, including local farms, equestrian centers, and poultry farms.
- Supplying Biomass Plants: With the growing focus on renewable energy, biomass plants require a steady supply of shredded wood. Establishing contracts with these facilities ensures consistent income.
- Creating Compost Blends: When combined with organic waste, shredded wood can creates high-quality compost. Selling this product to gardeners, landscapers, and municipalities can be lucrative.
- Servicing Public Spaces: Providing playground surfacing materials to schools, parks, and municipalities is another way to generate profit. Certified playground chips often command higher prices due to their safety compliance.
Additionally, businesses can offset costs by charging fees for collecting and processing wood waste. Construction companies, furniture manufacturers, and municipalities are often willing to pay for responsible waste disposal.
Conclusion
Shredded wood waste offers a sustainable solution to managing one of the most common byproducts of human activity. Whether it’s providing mulch for gardens, bedding for animals, fuel for power plants, or safety surfaces for playgrounds, the potential of shredded wood waste is vast and largely untapped.
1https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06557-9#:~:text=Evidence%20for%20the%20earliest%20structural,least%20476%2C000%20years%20ago%20%7C%20Nature
