How To Dispose Treated Timber Properly
Your treated lumber furniture might be one of your greatest pride and assets.
However, when it comes to disposing of it correctly, most people are unaware of the protocols to follow. Disposing of treated wood callously can be detrimental to the environment, and the environmental protection agency may create legal issues about it.
At some point in time, you may no longer have use for your old furniture and may be wondering how to dispose treated timber properly. Fortunately, you have come to the right place. In our guide, we will tell you all about how to properly dispose of treated wood without getting into trouble for it.
Plus, we will tell you why it is important to ensure that treated lumber is responsibly disposed of. Keep reading to know all about it.
How To Dispose Treated Lumber Properly?
Typically, outdoor furniture made of treated wood is designed to last for decades. In fact, treated lumber often lasts 20 to 30 times longer than standard wood. But experts researching and working in the wood treating industry are aware of the chemicals used in pressure-treated wood to protect it from decay, rot, environmental damage, insect damage, and other factors. And these chemical preservatives can help increase the lifespan of your treated lumber furniture.
That said, these chemicals are essentially toxic in nature that can lead to long-term environmental problems if the treated wood is not disposed of properly. Hence, it is essential to know about the proper disposal of treated wood to protect the environment and stay within legal boundaries.
A. Salvaging And Reusing Treated Lumber
As a general rule, you should try and salvage any old furniture made of pressure-treated wood. For instance, there are many DIY methods that may give you ideas on how to reuse small wood scraps, yard waste, and old lumber without creating hazardous waste.
Likewise, if the treated wood does not eventually end up in a waste stream, it is best to consider it waste. In that case, you can contact professional designers who can help reuse the treated lumber into small projects.
Many homeowners engaged in DIY projects often take the help of the internet to come up with ideas or inspiration for reusing old wood and furniture. Some might even try to renovate an old deck using materials easily found in local stores or around their homes.
B. Take The Treated Wood To A Local Landfill Or A Transfer Station
There are many safer alternatives to disposing of treated wood that you can explore. However, the responsible thing to do with it is to take the treated wood to nearby town transfer stations or your local landfill.
Here, the manufacturers, contractors, and utilities will contact with wood burner facilities and the local landfill to burn treated wood. Remember that you should never attempt to burn treated wood at home or in your yard as it can result in a host of health problems. Besides, the resulting smoke and byproducts can be highly toxic to you and others around you.
Many homeowners believe in composting wood scraps, chips, and sawdust at home. However, this is a bad idea and can result in toxic waste. It is best to take the treated wood to its designated location and allow the local authorities to deal with it.
Alternatively, you can contact some of the best rubbish removal services in Australia to assist you with the safe disposal of treated wood.
Risks Of Irresponsible Disposal Of Treated Wood
You might be wondering what would happen if you dispose of CCA treated wood (chromated copper arsenate) by dumping it in the water or other sites. For starters, copper based products like CCA treated wood are treated with chemicals. These, in turn, leach copper naphthenate, arsenic, and chromium into the environment, which results in toxic waste.
Furthermore, open burning of any non-clean wood pile in coking ovens or an open field can cause severe health problems and pose an environmental risk. Burning lumber or plastic causes the release of toxic gases and chemicals, which may even cause cancer.
Generally, the chemicals used to treat wood help inhibit fungal decay caused by fungi and insects. These includes ACQ preserve, chromated copper arsenate, and an oil based compound like creosote which is made of coal tar.
As a result, disposing of treated wood irresponsibly into a landfill can cause these toxic chemicals to leach into groundwater, resulting in waterborne chemicals causing birth defects. .
Aside from that, waterborne preservatives for treated lumber include various combinations of arsenic, flouride, chromium, ammoniacal copper zinc arsenate and copper. However, these waterborne chemicals have serious environmental and health repercussions, for example, skin, lung, and bladder cancer.
DIY Projects For Pressure Treated Wood
Wondering how you can renovate your old pressure treated lumber to create something innovative? Here are some ideas.
1. Bookshelf
For all the book-lovers out there, consider building your own DIY bookshelf using the old wood scraps in your home. What better way to show off your artistic skills and your wonderful book collection?
2. Wood Painting
Here’s another one for the artists out there. How about using that piece of old wood to create a wall hanging or a painting? Quite an affordable home decor option, don’t you think?
3. Birdhouse
Build a cute birdhouse for your feathered friends in the garden with your old wood scraps. It’s pretty straightforward and the birds will love you for it! But before using pressure treated lumber for any DIY project, ensure that you know what kind to use.
Final Words
With that, we have finally concluded our guide. We hope this helps you better understand the steps of properly disposing of treated wood.
If you have an old deck or cutting boards at home, contact a professional for its proper disposal. They will be better equipped to handle the proper disposal of treated lumber and are aware of the legalities surrounding it.
You can also consider using recycled plastic along with varieties of wood like timber and cedar to create new furniture or DIY projects.
We will see you another day. Till then, stay safe!
