How To Dispose Of Wood With Nails (3 Ways To Do It!)

With all the rules about recycling household waste, anything out of the ordinary can create confusion. A small repair or remodel project in your home may leave you with construction debris, especially wood with nails. How do you dispose of wood with nails or other metal?

Wood with nails from do-it-yourself home improvement projects is manageable in several ways. You can remove the nails, then recycle the wood and metal separately. Some municipal and private recyclers will accept wood with nails and other small metal objects.

There are many other factors involved in recycling wood waste. The other factors can include:

The differences in local and state law on waste disposal and management are like night and day. In some areas, the local rules and regulations for disposing of natural products like wood are lax. In other areas, ordinances can be extremely rigid. It is important to be aware of what your community expects when disposing of wood waste.

For example, in New York City, do it yourself remodeling debris goes in the regular curbside waste pickup. Only homeowner generated debris can go in curbside trash. If you hired a contractor to do the work, the contractor is responsible for removing the wood and other debris.

In municipalities using dumpsters or bins to collect residential waste, the waste wood must fit entirely inside the bin or dumpster. Most do not make any stipulations about nails in the wood. Since most residential waste goes directly into the landfill without being sorted, the nails are not a problem.

Recycling your remodeling wood waste is always a much better option than sending it to the landfill. Many cities and towns offer special pickup of larger wood debris. In some areas, you must make an appointment for the debris to be removed. Some recycling operations may have restrictions.

Most recycling centers that accept wood with nails are using large tube grinders that shred the wood waste. Large and powerful magnets then separate any metal from the wood chips. These wood chips are then given away or sold as landscape mulch.

Those recyclers who process waste wood into wood chip mulch have restrictions on the kinds of wood they will accept. Metals such as nails, hinges, and doorknobs don’t present a problem. However, treated and manufactured wood products can contain materials making them unfit for use as mulch.

Most wood recycling centers will not accept woods treated with preservatives or insecticidal chemicals. Treated wood typically is died a greenish color when the chemicals are applied. Some treated wood is identifiable by a series of small holes in patterns punched into the wood. In general, these types of wood waste are segregated and placed in special areas of the landfill.

In many instances, larger pieces of structural wood with nails is still perfectly suitable for many projects. In some areas, some individuals and companies will pick up larger pieces of wood. Many of these individuals and companies advertise in local newspapers and on social media.

Repurposing wood is much more efficient and environmentally sound than recycling. Reusing wood for other projects keeps the waste wood out of the landfill. Even grinding wood for mulch is costly. The less wood that goes to waste management or recycling means fewer trees cut down for building materials.

Most individuals and companies that repurpose building materials, especially structural wood, will take your waste wood with nails and hinges attached.

Some people want to use waste construction debris in a wood-burning stove or fireplace. Fueling a wood stove or fireplace with waste wood is certainly an option. However, make sure that the wood you are burning isn’t treated with any chemicals.

Also, keep in mind that structural wood is dry and often burns hot and very quickly. Be careful not to overload your fireplace or wood stove. Overloading can damage your fireplace or wood stove or result in a chimney fire.

Composting is always an option. Wood is biodegradable and will break down in a compost pile. However, unless you have a way to turn large lumber pieces into small chunks and chips, the decomposition of the waste wood can take years.

Small wood chips and sawdust are better choices for composting. Larger lengths of wood construction waste are better sent to a recycling center than can grind them into smaller pieces that can then be composted or used as wood chip mulch.

Some electric utility companies have built generating plants that use wood and other products for fuel sources. These specialized operations take wood waste and other waste products to produce the steam that drives the power plant.

These biomass energy production operations are often partnerships between the electric utility and the city waste management department. A phone call to your waste management department or electric utility will give you the information you need.

Any large scale burning to produce energy involves producing gases and by-products. Overall, burning wood and other biomass are much more efficient and environmentally safe than burning fossil fuels.