How To Make Your Wood Workshop More Sustainable

For business owners in 2021, sustainability and an environmentally friendly approach to operations has become very important. In woodwork there is certainly many questions around sustainability and how to make woodwork processes much more friendly for the environment. We’ve done a bit of research ourselves and have found some helpful suggestions which may help you make some small changes to increase your workshop sustainability.

Buy sustainable wood

When it comes to purchasing the wood to use in your workshop, it is a good idea to look into the sale of sustainable wood. Some types of wood have been certified by the FSC (The Forest Stewardship Council) with their certification system which provides an internationally recognised standard-setting and trademark assurance to any business or individual, which is interested in dedicated to supporting responsible forestry.

When buying with this in mind, some woods which are more sustainable than most include:

• Bamboo
• Oak
• Teak
• Mahogany
• Douglas Fir

It is important to note that some woods are actually endangered, and these should be avoided completely when purchasing sustainable wood, some of these woods are:

• Murbau
• Sapelee
• Wenge
• Ebony
• Brazilian Mahogany

Purchase refurbished machinery

Another great way you can keep your workshop running sustainably, is to give new life to old machines by purchasing refurbished machinery and tools. By doing so you will be expanding the life of a machine which may have originally been taken to landfill. When properly kept and well maintained your refurbished machine could provide you years of service. At Calderbrook Woodwork Machinery, we have a range of refurbished machines which have all been expertly cared for to bring them back to life!

Minimise waste

Waste management is not just important from a health and safety perspective but also for sustainability. When running a wood workshop, you should consider how to minimise your waste as best as possible. Often this can be as simple as incorporating waste minimising techniques into the way you work and run your workshop. When measuring and cutting wood be sure to double check this is accurate before making the cut. The more careful you are when measuring and cutting, the less pieces of wood waste you will create. Our dust extractor machines will help to remove any small amounts of waste you can not avoid when using your woodwork machinery.

Safe wood disposal

When you do have wood waste to deal with, safe wood disposal is really important in remaining sustainable. Wood is a great material as it can be reused and recycled many times to make new products, you will often be able to find a way to reuse your leftover pieces of wood, even if this is something simple like a doorstop. Alternatively, you could recycle this wood and process it from its original form into a range of products such as sawdust, fuel pellets and wood chips.

When this is not possible, you may find you have a local wood processing facility which can deal with the waste you do have which you can do nothing with.