What are the characteristics of wood waste?
Wood product and furniture manufacturers generate sawdust, offcuts, and dust. Offcuts are generated from cutting a shorter length from a long board. The remaining short board is of good quality, but is too short to make a useful part. Other offcuts are generated due to defects such as knots or splitting; some furniture companies scrap up to 40% of purchased lumber due to defects. Sawdust is generated from cutting, drilling, and milling (shaping) operations where wood is removed from a finished product. Dust is very fine flour-like wood particles generated during sanding and other machining operations. Wood dust is explosive, irritates workers, causes quality problems by settling on fresh paint, and is a nuisance to neighbors. For these reasons, dust is often collected in filter bags or dust collectors. In general all of these materials are landfilled. Offcuts, sawdust, and dust generated by wood products manufacturers is typically clean material containing little sand, soil, or water.
