A Guide to Wood Chipper Sustainability

Using a wood chipper can have a ton of benefits, including reusing organic waste

Wood chips are a useful resource for your property, turning tree limbs and yard waste into something that can be reused in multiple different ways.

The benefits of using a wood chipper include both environmental and practical advantages, such as supporting sustainable land management, reducing waste, and promoting eco-friendly practices. 

Converting wood waste can help improve the health of your land, reduce landfill waste, and potentially help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By using a wood chipper, you can reduce waste and play a role in reducing waste overall.

Here are a few ways wood chipper sustainability can improve your property.

Choosing the Right Wood Chipper

Selecting the right wood chipper is a key step in managing wood waste efficiently and sustainably. With so many options available, it’s important to match your wood chipper needs to the type and amount of wood waste you expect to handle. Whether you’re clearing land, tackling bulky wood waste, or looking to convert tree branches and yard waste into manageable chips, the right wood chipper can make a significant difference.

For smaller properties or lighter tasks, smaller chippers like the Woodland Mills TFG55 are great. There are two varieties, one that requires a tractor with a PTO and one that has its own engine, which is great for property owners in more residential areas who don't own tractors.

If you’re dealing with large volumes of waste wood or need to process bigger branches, consider a more powerful, heavy-duty model. Models like the TF810 PRO can process larger branches and use Twin Flywheel Technology which makes use of a second flywheel to more consistently process green, leafy material compared to other models.

Ultimately, choosing the right wood chipper is about understanding your specific needs and the environmental benefits you want to achieve. By investing in a quality machine, you’ll be able to manage waste more effectively, reduce your impact on natural resources, and play a part in building a greener future.

Are wood chippers sustainable?

Wood chippers are great tools for reusing wood waste around your property. With models like the TF810 PRO or WC88 you can easily turn bulky wood waste into a pile of wood chips. This means you don’t need to pay to throw them into the landfill or pay transportation costs to dispose of them.

Because you’re keeping them on your property you’re making a low carbon footprint, plus you’re using a renewable resource by using wood chips in your garden beds, pathways and trails. Wood chips break down and contribute to the soil base.

You could even use them as a renewable energy resource in biomass energy production if you own a biomass boiler.

When it comes to recycling wood waste it’s easy and there are plenty of ways to reuse wood chips. More industries are adopting sustainable wood recycling practices to reduce waste and meet environmental standards.

How do I reuse wood chips?

Because modern wood chippers like Woodland Mills' models produce consistent, clean wood chips it's easy to reuse them around your property. Some ideas on how to reuse this green waste include:

• • As a mulch in your garden bed to suppress weeds and improve soil health

  • In various landscaping projects like pathways through your property

  • As a soft bedding in playgrounds

  • As a biomass fuel for heating your home

Incorporating reuse of your wood chips into your property is part of having sustainable land management practices. Using natural materials that you source from your own property that regrow over time is key to avoiding potent greenhouse gas emissions. Plus they can have numerous environmental benefits like restoring the nutrients in your soil.

How do I use wood chips in my garden?

Take your wood chip pile and distribute a few inches above the topsoil in your garden. Doing this will suppress weed growth, help with erosion control and improve your soil's structure. With the right wood chipper like a TF68 PRO you can easily turn your yard waste into wood chips and use the discharge chute to send it directly onto your gardens, then use a rake to spread it.

Using organic materials in your garden means they'll break down naturally, as opposed to using a landscaping tarp which will need to be removed seasonally.

Wood chips are a sustainable alternative to buying topsoil from your local garden center or using fertilizers.

How do I use wood chips to create garden paths?

Wood chips are a valuable resource for creating walkways throughout your property, including paths through your garden or wooded areas. Just clear the area of any obstructions like rocks or saplings and lay down a few inches of wood chips.

The benefit of this is that as the wood chips degrade they'll create a nutrient rich mulch, meaning if you want to repurpose that area for garden space down the line all you have to do is till the land and you'll have fresh soil ready for planting.