ChipDrop: a site to sign up for delivery of free wood chips

This is a new site: www.chipdrop.in

If you are an arborist, you can create an account to find out where to dump a load of wood chips.
If you want wood chips, you create an account-name, address, email, phone number, drop instructions

There is no way of knowing or guarantee the chips are contaminant free. If spraying goes on in your area, I'd think the products used would be in there.
In my area, the county sprays for mosquitos, the electric utilities come around every few years and spray under the power lines.

I've signed up to receive chips. I'll let you know if I get any.

I have signed up for this site and a couple other similar to it. no luck so far in the last 18 months. But, my property is way out in the country. Probably further than they are willing to drop.hopefully, you will have better luck!

I'm checking it out. My need for chips is unusual. The long, skinny property has a kilometer of road. It's made of the native soil which is a mix of gravel and rock flour. Some idiots drive too fast, which stirs up clouds of dust. I want about 20 loads to spread over the entire length. This should slow them down while adding organic matter. If the ditches get clogged, my tenant will clear them with his excavator. He's the main culprit in creating these man made dust storms.

Edit - It seems to be only in the US. I couldn't provide a state and zip code, so couldn't sign up. I called and left a number.

In my experience of getting chips dropped you do better getting on the phone for half an hour and chatting to your local tree trimmers. What you want is to get a relationship going with one of them so that you become his preferred drop spot. If your yard is near his home base so much the better.

He called me today. They plan to start in Canada in under a year. Vancouver and other large cities first.

We received a load through chipdrop today. I'm not sure I'd use the service again. The truck dropped the chips so they covered half of the sidewalk. Also half the load was eucalyptus leaves and branches which are allelopathic and toxic to animals. Now we have a mountain of half unusable mulch in our driveway.

Sometime in the last week or two someone dropped off another load of wood chips. I don't know if this was because of the chip drop site or if the guys that dropped a few loads earlier this year were working in the area. I'ts out there, just wish I had the time to work with it!

Also half the load was eucalyptus leaves and branches which are allelopathic and toxic to animals.

They offer the option of not accepting any species(es) you choose.
You also have the option of choosing with/without logs, or logs only.

They offer this free. However they have an option to pay (between $20-80 per load).
All else being equal (mileage/travel time, etc), the person offering to pay will probably get served before the 'freebies'.

Yes, I did specify that I didn't want cedar or laurel but it didn't occur to me that there would be eucalyptus until it was here.

Still handy as a mulch where you don't want things to grow, and as a fuel.

Thanks! I've been lucky in the past with getting free chips but it's been a dry spell lately.

Hey that is really cool idea, thanks for looking out!
I don't know if any of the arborists in my area subscribe to that site but it's cool that it's there in the off chance they do.

I've had no luck with the power company in the past three years requesting drops from them.
My neighbor got 7 whole truck loads two days after he signed up (for the power company drops).. I've got zilch. So it comes down to the luck of the draw, I suppose.

I've had such a good experience with this site that I figured it was time to register at this forum and share it.
I've received two loads of chips and a load of logs in the past couple of months. Each load of chips came within a week of requesting it. The chips I received were mostly some sort of conifer with a lot of needles in it, but this is probably because I live in a neighborhood that has more conifers than average.
The logs just arrived yesterday after waiting for about a month. These are some serious logs! They look like they are also from a coniferous tree of some sort, and they are mostly big half-rounds about 2 feet thick from a tree about 3 feet in diameter.
All the arborists that have given me material have been very good about dropping it exactly where I asked for it in the directions. All 3 have dropped on a Friday afternoon.
These results are in Portland, using the completely free option on the website. Hope this site works out as well for others as it did for me, because it is a pretty cool idea. As someone who only has a bike and cargo trailer for hauling stuff, it is really awesome to have what I estimate is 10,000 pounds of logs dumped on my property at zero cost and effort from me.

This site is now at the url https://getchipdrop.com/ -- I had a positive report about it from the administrator of a local Facebook group I am on who successfully used it to get a load of chips a few days ago.  However he waited a very long time.  Hey, free chips.  It's another strategy to complement all the other ways you may be able to get some.  

I tried signing up a few days ago and found out that the site magically "forgot" the active chips request that I had set up -- when I logged back in two days later, I didn't have an active request and there were no requests in my history either.  That makes no sense.  I just got some chips the old-fashioned way (begging a local crew) so I probably won't mess with this site.  But I figured I would bump this thread with the updated URL and my experience in case it helps somebody else.

Chip drop continues to provide cheap, clean, fast chips for me in Portland.

I waited about a week after requesting chips before receiving this great load of free 100% cherry chips. This particular arborist is based right down the street, so they've given me chips several times before when I request chips through chipdrop.

Internet company recently added a wire over my driveway to connect the internet tube from my house to the pole, so it's good that the arborist was keeping an eye out for that -- the truck started hitting the wire as they lifted it and they had to pull the truck forward before they could lift it more. My wife gave them some tasty baked goods for giving us such a nice load of chips and not taking out our internet in the process.

How come I never saw this thread before?  THANK YOU for bringing it back to life!  I just registered with the Chip Drop folks, and hopefully, I'll have a new source for chips.  

Outstanding.  This is why I love this board and this community.

This reminds me of the year my daughter gave me three weeks notice of her wedding.  We planned to have it in the back yard, but that May it rained every day leading up to the date.  We had tents and a covered pavilion, but a huge low and wet spot in between.  A friend who was helping me with the yard prep, suggested wood chips.  Just as I was thinking "I don't have time for one more task!" we heard a particular buzzing sound from just up the block.  A tree service was taking down a large tree!  They were delighted to back their truck down the alley and dump a load right where it was needed.  Someone was definitely watching over us that day.

A valuable resource. I just received a drop this week. The second in a month. I am covering a qtr acre patch of bare ground with it. Would be $$$impossible even at bulk commercial rates otherwise.

You have the option of taking logs along with chips. It is a source of much of my firewood as well as a huglebed. Just have the equipment to handle it. I have on occasion received pieces 20+" in dia and 4-6' long. In oak that is a bit of heft.

I registered a few years ago... and told each time they were not in my area yet. I just renewed my request and it was accepted
They said there have been "13 drops with 50 miles of (my) location in last 30 days." I have no idea if that means any were reasonably close to me but it is at least a move in my direction

[quote=Kathy Shaiken]I registered a few years ago... and told each time they were not in my area yet. I just renewed my request and it was accepted
They said there have been "13 drops with 50 miles of (my) location in last 30 days." I have no idea if that means any were reasonably close to me but it is at least a move in my direction [/quote]

Kathy, there is a map function on their site. It would give you a fair idea where the last few drops have been. Also look are your location in relation to the landfills in your area.

I've used ChipDrop for a few years now and it waxes and wanes on how soon I get a response.  Sometimes it's months.  Sometimes it's days.  The last couple of tree companies I spoke with that got my number from ChipDrop said they didn't think too many companies were signed up in this area.  

In any regard, I will keep using the website.  It's one more resource I have in order to get the wood chips when I need them and it's easy to use.  I do recommend it!

I posted my first request about 9 months ago and keep up with renewals, but haven't gotten any yet( but I"m in a rural area where most people either trim their own trees, or use the resulting chips themselves.)

I looked around the interwebs and registered at a few individual tree trimming companies a well - time will tell.

I signed up and received my chips the next day!  I kicked in 40 bucks, so that probably helped.

I think the tree company would do well to have their chipper sharpened and adjusted.  The chips were barely within the guidelines described by ChipDrop, but they're usable.  Hopefully next time I'll get a better batch.

I wish they had an option for the homeowner to pay the optional $20 fee after it is dropped off instead of before you know if you will ever get one or not.

Greg Martin wrote:I wish they had an option for the homeowner to pay the optional $20 fee after it is dropped off instead of before you know if you will ever get one or not.

Well they don't charge your card till after the drop off. I have typically been notified 24hrs in advance when a possible drop off is to occur.

john mcginnis wrote:
Well they don't charge your card till after the drop off. I have typically been notified 24hrs in advance when a possible drop off is to occur.

Oh, good!  Thank you John.

Quickest Chip Drop Yet!

This morning I had a hankering for some wood chips to be delivered to my home.
So at 8:45 I clicked the button on Chip Drop that says "gimme the chips" (selected free option, not the paid option).
At 9:15 I received an email that I would be receiving chips soon.
By 9:45, I was the proud owner of a massive pile of ground up conifer tree.

In the past, I've waited anywhere from one day to a month or more for chips. In my current location, it seems like there are a lot of arborists based really close by, so it tends to be on the quicker side. But 1 hour is just incredible.

I envy you people with properties large enough to have a truck full of chips dumped on!

I barely have a driveway, so I wait for the sound of chainsaws in my neighbourhood, visit to see if it’s a small arborist truck, and if it’s only half-full I ask the driver to dump it on my tiny driveway and sidewalk. As soon as it’s done I frantically start moving onto my garden before a Council officer notices to issue me a fine for littering the sidewalk with spilled mulch and before my elderly neighbour finds another thing to be annoyed at me over (this time for mulch spilling onto her driveway, which she doesn’t need as she likes fake grass and concrete).

My municipality runs a chipper truck. They'll process pretty large stuff, so homeowners and arborists just stack cuttings on the side of the street.  The truck then dumps the chips near the public works building and anyone can come take as much as they want, anytime.  A little extra work but nice because I don't have a large yard or garden and I don't have to clear the driveway when a load shows up at a random time.

Of course, no one ever communicated that the pile was there until I asked the question one day.  I guess that's good because there are always chips available when I want them.

Mark Griffin wrote:My municipality runs a chipper truck. They'll process pretty large stuff, so homeowners and arborists just stack cuttings on the side of the street.  The truck then dumps the chips near the public works building and anyone can come take as much as they want, anytime.  A little extra work but nice because I don't have a large yard or garden and I don't have to clear the driveway when a load shows up at a random time.

The economic rationalists in my area mean we never get something like that. The Council uses all the chips itself, and for any other green waste the Council acquires the Council pays to a waste-collection company which then composts the waste and sells it to the Council and the general permies. Can you imagine being paid to take other peoples’ organic waste and then selling it back to them? Even more crazy is that if we create our own green waste (like cutting a tree ourselves, or demolishing a hedge), we have to pay Council a fee to drop it at their dump.

I signed up for ChipDrop a couple of years ago and have even renewed, but never got a drop.  Personally, I wouldn't offer to pay for a wood chip drop because in my area these guys have to pay to drop in drop yards.  I'm doing them a favor when I take wood chips for free.  My best success for getting wood chip drops comes in the form of stopping when I see a crew downing a tree and chipping in my area.  I walk up to the foreman and explain that I live close by and that our farm accepts wood chips.  I then hand them our business card and tell them to give us a call if they want to drop.  I've never had a foreman not be very thankful that I stopped.  More times than not, they call me a couple hours later asking to drop.  We got about 20 drops that way this summer after a tornado came through our area and destroyed some of my neighbors houses/property (2 miles up the road) and downing a lot of trees.  I was hoping for at least 40 drops, but 20 was better than nothing. :)

@TJ: yep, an arborist will always be very happy to drop them at someone’s place if they’re already working close by.

I've been on chip drop for several years without any activity for several years.

In NE Ohio (and much of the country), electric distribution lines are cleared routinely to maintain clearance.

These crews are easy to spot on the roadside, and often are looking for sites to dump chips to avoid paying fees.

I've learned that if you show up to the work site with a 12 pack of beer and approach the foreman, you can get results.

Generally, the foreman of the crews wears a white hard hat - and is better able to coordinate the drops.

He was able to jump in my truck, take a quick ride to our little homestead and see where we were wanted them dropped (and also to see if they could access the site with their box trucks)

After that, I probably had 10-12 loads of chips dropped from the various circuits that run around our general area on the roads.

Crews trimming along the transmission lines are less likely to be able to deliver chips, as most of that stuff is just dropped along the edge.

Distribution lines are frequently road side and in residential yards requiring removal and off-site dumping.

Good luck!

With Chip Drop distance is the key factor. If you are further away that the paid for dump site you won't get much action. The downtime to get to you is the key.

I have had good success with ChipDrop. But it took a while for tree services in our area to know the service was an option.

Personally, I wouldn't offer to pay for a wood chip drop because in my area these guys have to pay to drop in drop yards.  I'm doing them a favor when I take wood chips for free.

I haven't paid myself (nor have I gotten a free drop in the 11 months I've been signed up and renewing, probably due to the fact that it would be very rare that my location is convenient) but I do want to make it clear for people how the "payment" works on ChipDrop.

When you pay ChipDrop, the money doesn't go to the guys who have chips to get rid of.  

Chipdrop is a business.  They make money by charging the guys with chips to tell them about you/us and our chip dropping locations.   When arborists use ChipDrop to get rid of chips, it's because it's cheaper than paying for landfill dumping; but they are still paying.  We aren't doing them a favor -- it's just a calculation about relative cost (landfill fees versus Chipdrop fees, distance, fuel, time, hassle).  

When we offer to pay, ChipDrop doesn't collect money up front.  What they do is is flag our dumpsite as free in the software that the chip guys use.  Then when the chips get dumped, we get charged the $20 that the arborist guys would usually pay instead.   Somebody who isn't getting free chips might be able to put a thumb on the scales of the cost-benefit calculation this way, that's all.  Obviously if the free chips are already flowing, there's no need.

https://getchipdrop.com/expectations/#payment

When looking for chips, you can always just call the local arborists in the area. It helps if you live near where they’re chipping. I now have a friend that has a busy business and I have him dump chips here all the time. I use the composted hardwoods for mulching trees and plants. As for conifer chips, I throw them along the trails. The hardwoods break down faster and release more nutrients back into the soil than do sap woods like cedar, hemlock or pine.

If you are small time, like needing less than 10 loads a year, the easiest way to get chips is to get a really local arborist to cut one down for you. Then they feel like they owe you! It’s a weird psychology. When I wa starting out a case of Natty Light was also a very big play.

Highly recommend the utility companies for large quantities. That is tremendous advice. I probably got about 100 loads in one year and I set them aside since they only clear about every 5 years in the same area. Once the beds are made (2’ deep) they should not need more for a couple years and it won’t be much.

I also pay $20 a load if I’m home and the chips are clean. I probably am home every third load but the gesture is appreciated.

We had the power company come through a couple of months ago trimming branches, and their trucks were filling quickly with wood chips. I got excited and asked the various crews if they would drop loads off in my driveway as they filled up. They were happy to oblige but also told me that fresh wood chips attract termites. That, in fact, termites LOVE fresh wood chips. Being I was in the middle of dealing with termites at our house, this bit of information acted like someone waving a huge, red flag so I told him to cancel the drops. I then ran around to all the crews told them all to "ABORT MISSION, REPEAT: ABORT MISSION!!" Now I am wondering if that bit of information was true or not. Do fresh wood chips, in fact, attract termites? Does anyone know or has had the experience of finding termites after getting fresh wood chips dropped?

Annie Collins wrote:We had the power company come through a couple of months ago trimming branches, and their trucks were filling quickly with wood chips. I got excited and asked the various crews if they would drop loads off in my driveway as they filled up. They were happy to oblige but also told me that fresh wood chips attract termites. That, in fact, termites LOVE fresh wood chips. Being I was in the middle of dealing with termites at our house, this bit of information acted like someone waving a huge, red flag so I told him to cancel the drops. I then ran around to all the crews told them all to "ABORT MISSION, REPEAT: ABORT MISSION!!" Now I am wondering if that bit of information was true or not. Do fresh wood chips, in fact, attract termites? Does anyone know or has had the experience of finding termites after getting fresh wood chips dropped?

Fresh wood chips do in fact attract termites! But is this is a bad thing?? Probably not!

Termites are going to exist and eat wood no matter what. If they have plenty to eat outside of your home, they won't be forced to settle for the subpar food source of your crawlspace.

Termites are also great for the soil food web from what I can tell.

PS. Termites will not eat dry wood. Your first priority should be drying your crawlspace. This could be plumbing issues or even runoff problems.

Annie Collins wrote:We had the power company come through a couple of months ago trimming branches, and their trucks were filling quickly with wood chips. I got excited and asked the various crews if they would drop loads off in my driveway as they filled up. They were happy to oblige but also told me that fresh wood chips attract termites. That, in fact, termites LOVE fresh wood chips. Being I was in the middle of dealing with termites at our house, this bit of information acted like someone waving a huge, red flag so I told him to cancel the drops. I then ran around to all the crews told them all to "ABORT MISSION, REPEAT: ABORT MISSION!!" Now I am wondering if that bit of information was true or not. Do fresh wood chips, in fact, attract termites? Does anyone know or has had the experience of finding termites after getting fresh wood chips dropped?

Its true. That said there are ways to downgrade the problem. Don't pile chips up next to your foundation. Or if you have the space, age your chips in a location away from the home. Some common sense thinking can mitigate the issue.