How to Reduce Wood Waste at Home

a selection of old wood work tools

Woodworking or DIY? There are four main ways to reduce waste wood at home:

  1. Only buy the wood you need – measure up before you buy to make sure you only order enough wood for the job.
  2. Use up old wood pieces – keep old wood in a dry storage place, then use old wood for new projects, or find someone locally who would like wood.
  3. Plan ahead – make a cut list for all your wood. Tesselation is your friend!
  4. Keep equipment sharpened– do-it-yourself or ask an expert. Find your nearest Repair Cafe! This will save blunt blades creating more sawdust than necessary.
a picture of hearts etched with sawdust on a plank of wood

How to Reduce Wood Waste at School

All the same ideas as for households apply to schools! Be efficient with wood at school, share pieces of wood and use them in projects around school – protect wood pieces from the weather by storing in a dry place so they can be used again. Use contractors who are careful with their wood waste.

Bring about a mend and reuse culture by regular involvement of students and their families in initiatives to reduce waste and energy, like Earth Days, energy efficiency talks and our interactive workshops for schools.