Woodwaste removal procedures are an ongoing problem and can be costly and time-consuming. Machines can become blocked and wood dust can be a hazard, causing loss of production. The amount of woodwaste produced can also change week to week, resulting in a lack of continuity in disposal costs.
There are a number of potential solutions. To date, the main one has been the quick fix. high cost option of landfill. But landfill tax alone is set to rise to £30 per tonne. Add to this £10 transport cost, £5 skip hire fee and a £25 tipping charge per tonne of woodwaste disposed and you have a potential fee of £70 per tonne. Although this procedure is costly, at least it enables the removal of woodwaste – provided skip delivery is reliable and organised. This high cost of landfill encourages fly tipping and sites are unsightly and cause local objection. This option also has a shelf life as all organic based waste by-products, especially clean combustibles will be prohibited from landfill in Germany by 2005 and all other EU countries are following suit.
Environmental benefits
Recycling of woodwaste can give good environmental benefits. The option that most people are used to is sending clean virgin wood to chipboard and MDF manufacturers. This is ideal and ensures a good constant supply of product and if a long-term contract can be secured locally (within 30-50 miles) it may be feasible. The main area of concern is that board manufacturers offer little money for the material because of transport costs.
The installation of good quality ‘thermal recycling’ woodwaste to energy equipment has the greatest environmental benefit and highest return. This option is even suited to the small woodworker where systems are available to burn as little as 6kg/hour of wood off-cuts while still producing enough hot air to heat about 1,500ft2.
Quick payback
The cost of a small basic hand-fed system is around £3,000 and taking into account waste removal and heating costs, a quick payback on the capital cost of equipment can be achieved, usually within 12-18 months.
From there on, the equipment provides ‘free’ heat and woodwaste removal. An automatic system which can be linked into dust extraction units provides the added benefit of a totally closed mechanism, preventing dust particles being distributed in the air. These types of systems can also allow for increases in production and are available to produce hot air for factory space heating or hot water, steam for heating or process energy.
Electricity from wood combustion is another viable option, with the power available for use on site or sale at a good price. There has always been a stigma attached to small wood power generators that they are expensive to run with a high investment cost. Traditionally this has been the case because of the amount of money being spent on incorrect pieces of equipment. To make wood power work is actually straightforward. Proven procedures can be employed which have been used for centuries and these can work for a wide range of businesses, from those producing 10 tonnes of dry wood, to those producing 1,000 tonnes of wet wood or more per week.
Long-term return
Getting over the investment cost and ensuring that the system is guaranteed to work is the key. But this can and is being done by many companies in the UK and worldwide. A startling fact about using wet and dry woodwaste to produce electricity is that even when the woodworking factory owner has purchased the equipment, paid the maintenance, insurance, licence fees and labour, a tonne of woodwaste still has a value of £20-30 – and this figure will improve in the future as clean electricity from a renewable fuel source becomes a necessity.
The on-site combustion of woodwaste to produce energy will guarantee a return per tonne for the long term and is the only CO2 neutral option which secures its future in an increasingly environmentally-conscious climate.
