Wood waste disposal

Discover effective disposal strategies for managing wood waste in your business with Reconomy. Get an instant quote today.

A pile of wood waste in a container waiting for disposal.

Wood waste collection and disposal services

The efficient collection of wood waste is an essential process that directly contributes to environmental sustainability, resource conservation, and economic savings. With increasing pressure to adopt greener practices in both residential and industrial settings, wood waste management has taken on a critical role in promoting a circular economy.

Pallets being placed in a wood waste pile in a retail setting.

What is wood waste?

Wood waste is wood which is not virgin timber (that is, wood that has been used for any purpose) and associated residues such as off-cuts, shavings chippings and sawdust, either treated or not treated, is waste.

It’s estimated that 4.5-5m tonnes of wood waste is generated in the UK every year, making correct disposal for any business an absolute requirement.

When your business is dealing with wood waste, there are four different types of grades you need familiarise yourself with. These are Grade A, Grade B, Grade C and Grade D.

Wood waste specifically is material used for any purpose, with residues taking various forms, like chippings, sawdust and larger off cuts and categorised in one of four ways…

Grade A material

Predominantly clean wood, off cuts or pallets

Grade B material

Which is basically grade A wood, however contaminated with MDF and chipboard, which are already recycled wood products.

Grade C material

Which is grade B material, with an increasing level of mdf/chipboard contamination.

Grade D material

Classified as hazardous waste, as the wood will be treated in a paint or varnish for example.

At Reconomy, primary sources of wood waste typically get’s generated from the following customer’s sectors:

Construction and Housebuilding Sites

One of the largest contributors to wood waste, construction and housebuilding sites often generate large volumes of off-cuts, broken wood, and discarded timber.

Predominantly low-grade pallets and small off cuts, Commercial skip hire, and RoRo skip hire being used will usually be light in weight due to void spaces.

With the waste being small offcuts produced in the construction of homes or the refurbishment of a retail/industrial premises and low-grade pallet, Reconomy’s pallet collection service is a very popular choose for these industries. The dedicated pallet collection service is designed for sites needing collections ranging from 100 – 400 pallets per visit. We also offer a ‘sprint’ service inside the M25, for sites restricted on space and allows for the collection of between 20 – 100 pallets per visit.

Infrastructure

The types of wood within the infrastructure sector are likely to be very similar to those already mentioned, however there is the added possibility that site teams could come in to contact with some hazardous wood waste. For example, treated railway sleepers being removed by large infrastructure companies.

Manufacturing and industrial processes

Factories that produce wooden goods often have by-products such as shavings, off-cuts, and sawdust.

SMEs

Predominantly low-grade pallets and small off cuts. Volumes would typically be too small for a dedicated pallet collection, however, the service is still available for those generating large volumes of pallets

RPS 291 Wood waste regulations

Following the withdrawal of RPS 250, on Thursday 2nd November 2023, the Environment Agency introduced a new regulatory position statement (RPS 291) relating specifically to waste wood found in domestic premises, demolition sites, and other building construction.

For more information on this legislation and how your business could be impacted, please read here.

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