9 ALTERNATIVE USES FOR SAWDUST

Every fully stocked wood shop has a table saw. You can usually find a pile of sawdust under it, even if it's used only occasionally. If a shop has a belt sander or band saw, there's probably another pile of finer sawdust under that. Even people without stationary tools have sawdust accumulation on their workbenches.

- CHRIS DEZIEL

Sawdust recycling may not be the first thing on the mind of DIY woodworkers, but it's a priority in large industrial shops. Because it's the main ingredient in particleboard, medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and composite wood products, sawdust is a valuable resource to be carefully collected and sold. Small-scale woodworkers may not produce enough sawdust to sell, but that doesn't mean they should throw it away.

Of course, virgin sawdust from solid, untreated wood is the most valuable and versatile. It comes in handy in the shop, in the garden or around the house. Sawdust from engineered wood products like plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), MDF, particleboard or pressure-treated wood is toxic and shouldn't be used around plants or animals, but that doesn't make it useless.

Next time you sweep the shop floor or dust off your workbench, save that pile of sawdust. Here are some of the things you can do with it.

1. PREVENT SLIPS IN THE WINTER

Sawdust is a safe, non-corrosive salt alternative you can spread on icy walkways or driveways to provide traction. If there is vegetation nearby, use only nontoxic sawdust from nonengineered wood to avoid poisoning plants. When winter is over, the sawdust will decompose readily in higher temperatures.

2. KILL WEEDS