Chainsaw Shavings in Compost?

Hi,

I have this pine I cut and made timber with that generated lots of nice shavings. I was wondering if I should avoid adding that to my compost pile given that it must contain some chainsaw oil in it?

Personally, I wouldn't worry about the small amount of chainsaw oil - your helpful composting microbes will likely decompose it into component parts.

However, fresh wood will be much slower to compost than most other things you add, as lignin is slow to break down. Leaving it out in the rain/snow all winter and then adding it next year, might actually improve its digestibility.

Personally, I have animals, so I let the ducks and geese poop on mine and then compost it. Also in the past, I've used it on paths around garden areas. It can enrich the soil in place, or once it has broken down for a couple of years, you can toss it up on the bed to add extra carbon. There's some modern evidence that we need more carbon in our soil in most places.

Lastly, I've also used shavings like that to make small batch biochar - which I generally add to my compost or duck runs. This is another great way to get more carbon in your soil, as well a providing local microbes with lots of hotel space. I do not chop down trees just to make biochar, but I definitely use waste-stream material to do so. We make it in a pot in our woodstove, so it heats the house a little. https://permies.com/t/44894/Containers-making-biochar-wood-burning

Jay Angler wrote:Personally, I wouldn't worry about the small amount of chainsaw oil - your helpful composting microbes will likely decompose it into component parts.

However, fresh wood will be much slower to compost than most other things you add, as lignin is slow to break down. Leaving it out in the rain/snow all winter and then adding it next year, might actually improve its digestibility.

Personally, I have animals, so I let the ducks and geese poop on mine and then compost it. Also in the past, I've used it on paths around garden areas. It can enrich the soil in place, or once it has broken down for a couple of years, you can toss it up on the bed to add extra carbon. There's some modern evidence that we need more carbon in our soil in most places.

Lastly, I've also used shavings like that to make small batch biochar - which I generally add to my compost or duck runs. This is another great way to get more carbon in your soil, as well a providing local microbes with lots of hotel space. I do not chop down trees just to make biochar, but I definitely use waste-stream material to do so. We make it in a pot in our woodstove, so it heats the house a little. https://permies.com/t/44894/Containers-making-biochar-wood-burning

Thank you for the feedback! I liked the idea of the garden path, this is where I ended up putting it

Pierre-Luc Drouin wrote:Hi,

I have this pine I cut and made timber with that generated lots of nice shavings. I was wondering if I should avoid adding that to my compost pile given that it must contain some chainsaw oil in it?

I had the same question! :)

Jay Angler wrote:Personally, I wouldn't worry about the small amount of chainsaw oil - your helpful composting microbes will likely decompose it into component parts.

I agree with Jay. Natural systems can break down small amounts of hydrocarbons. I would be tempted to soak them in compost tea/Vitamin P to add nitrogen and aid decomposition.

If you dried those long shavings and put them in paper bags, they would make dandy firestarters.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

Jay Angler wrote:Personally, I wouldn't worry about the small amount of chainsaw oil - your helpful composting microbes will likely decompose it into component parts.

I agree with Jay. Natural systems can break down small amounts of hydrocarbons. I would be tempted to soak them in compost tea/Vitamin P to add nitrogen and aid decomposition.

If you dried those long shavings and put them in paper bags, they would make dandy firestarters.

Yes I agree. I had a whole wheelbarrow worth of it though, this would have been a lot of firestarter 😛

Compost it all. The large surface area will make it go fast. Adding some "greens" will speed it up, and for a nice hot compost pee on it.

When I predict I'm going to want to use chainsaw shavings for my chicken bedding, I just don't put bar oil in my saw.  Travis Johnson said he used his saws for years without oil since the bar and chains costs less to replace (if they even do wear out) than all the oil you put in it.

Mike Haasl wrote:When I predict I'm going to want to use chainsaw shavings for my chicken bedding, I just don't put bar oil in my saw.  Travis Johnson said he used his saws for years without oil since the bar and chains costs less to replace (if they even do wear out) than all the oil you put in it.

I am not sure if I would be willing to risk that route, but something I wondered though is if there could be some kind of cooking oil for example that could do the trick.

Yeah I have to agree. How much waste, in terms of oil, does it take to replace a bar and chain that will last a very long time if properly maintained? Like how much environmental cost is it to smelt the steel and chrome and laminate and aluminum and then cast it, ship it to the US (probably...) and then throw it in a hole in the ground well before it's time because it wasn't properly maintained? And when that chain and bar are wearing out, where do you supposed the shavings are going? They make "green" bar oil...