Where to get rid of untreated, scrap or rotten wood
Clean, untreated wood (pallets, framing scraps, rotted boards that were never treated) has more options than treated lumber: yard-waste and composting sites, construction recyclers, transfer stations and landfills.
How to do it
- Confirm it's untreated. Green or brown tint, stamped tags or a chemical smell usually mean treated lumber.
- Remove nails, screws and paint where you can, since recyclers often want clean wood.
- Try composting or yard-waste sites first for small pieces and brush, then C&D recyclers for lumber.
- Use a landfill or transfer station for painted, mixed or rotted wood that recyclers won't take.
What to avoid
- Don't mix treated and untreated wood in a load headed to a yard-waste site.
- Don't burn painted wood. Older paint may contain lead.
Places that may take scrap wood
Alaska 252Alabama 114Arkansas 89Arizona 223California 989Colorado 126Connecticut 172District of Columbia 9Delaware 14Florida 251Georgia 368Hawaii 64Iowa 89Idaho 127Illinois 222Indiana 256Kansas 325Kentucky 244Louisiana 83Massachusetts 386Maryland 134Maine 355Michigan 417Minnesota 428Missouri 138Mississippi 180Montana 103North Carolina 262North Dakota 127Nebraska 90New Hampshire 221New Jersey 188New Mexico 82Nevada 84New York 585Ohio 477Oklahoma 107Oregon 274Pennsylvania 229Rhode Island 40South Carolina 452South Dakota 56Tennessee 188Texas 279Utah 155Virginia 139Vermont 187Washington 278Wisconsin 424West Virginia 5Wyoming 85
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