How to Sell Sawdust

Make money with sawdust by turning your wood shavings and lumber waste to something useful

Wood shops, the lumber industry and individual sawyers produce a ton of sawdust, which for the most part goes to waste... but it doesn't have to. 

Sawdust has a lot of potential value, able to be used to create a ton of stuff like fire starters, wood pellets or animal bedding. There's a lot of potential to sell sawdust and make money, if you think creatively. While big timber tends to reuse sawdust to create particle board, there are plenty more uses for those who want to reuse and sell it in other ways.

Here are a few ideas for what to do with sawdust and how to sell it.

Wood Pellets for Burning

Sawdust is incredibly flammable and can be used to start campfires or light wood stoves. They can be used alongside wood chips, planer shavings or any other wood waste to make a healthy fire. There is some specialty equipment you need to do this, but it's well worth the effort.

You can make wood pellets by:

• • Drying your sawdust until it has about 10% moisture

  • Use a heated pellet press, filling it with sawdust and then forming the pellets to shape

  • Release the pellets from the press and allow them to cool

Wood pellets can potentially be sold alongside firewood. If you have a roadside stall or another place to sell your wood pellets you can potentially sell them for $5-10 per bag.

Animal Bedding

Some species like chickens and rabbits actually love sawdust, and it can be used as a soft bedding that clumps easily for removing messes.

Some sawyers will sell their sawdust by the pound. Potential customers include:

• • Local farmers

  • Independent pet stores or pet communities

  • Friends and families with small animals

Reach out and find potential clients interested in purchasing sawdust from you and set up a fair and affordable rate for them.

Wood Filler

Sawdust can make for good wood filler, especially for composite material like particle board. It's durable, light and easy to make. It can also be sanded down and painted or varnished and can easily blend in to cover up any blemishes.

Here's a technique to making your own wood filler.

• • Take a measuring cup and introduce one part sawdust

  • 1:1 sawdust to glue may be too much, depending on the type of glue. Mix the two together until they have a thick consistency that's not too runny

  • Incorporate the sawdust and then apply it to your surface that needs to be filled. If you continue stirring you can slow down the drying process of the glue so you can keep working with it for longer

Wood filler may not be the easiest to sell, but it's possible to share the technique and your preferred ratios with others.

Gardening

Most fruits or vegetables require soil that has plenty of nutrients to grow, but there is still use for sawdust in the garden. Funguses can grow in sawdust if provided with proper light, humidity and water.

You can even mix sawdust into your garden mulch or compost pile to add new content to it.

Or you can use it to create pathways and tamp down and prevent weeds.

Compost can be bagged and sold, or used in your own garden too. Ask folks in your area about their compost or mulch needs and see if you can make a profit from your wood waste.

Methods for Selling Sawdust

So you have a few different ways to use sawdust but how do you go about selling it? Here's a few techniques.

Roadside Stall

You ever see firewood stalls on the side of the road in the country? There's no reason you can't do the same with other types of products. Just set up some bags and a sign to get peoples' attention and you're 90% done.

Don't want to sit on the side of the road and monitor your side hustle? Just leave a sign and a place for people to deposit their cash. Most passersby will commit to the honour system and pay for anything they take, but do be wary of those who take advantage of others' good will.

Facebook Marketplace

Lots of online marketplace websites, Facebook among them, are great places to post ads and put your sawdust up for sale.

Offer a price by the bag or by the pound, post some pictures and let people know whether it's available for pickup or delivery. With a web page you can share you can send the link to interested friends who may be willing to spread the word for you.

In this modern age the world is at your fingertips when it comes to selling sawdust.

Farmers Markets and Trade Shows

Set up a booth at an event and have some bags out for sale. This is better if you already have a booth for an event where you're selling charcuterie boards, furniture or other items you make with your sawmill.

Just set a few bags up in front of your stall with the price and make some passive money while you're chatting with customers about your craft.

Pet Stores and other Independent Locations

This may be a bit more difficult but reach out to local shops and see if they're willing to purchase some of your sawdust bags to sell.

This will not be possible with chain stores where their inventory is tightly controlled by corporate, but smaller independent shops in little country towns may be more willing to work with local vendors.

Just reach out in person or send them a call or an email and see if there's any interest. Then set up a wholesale price and come up with a plan, and soon you'll have a consistent longterm customer willing to purchase your sawdust.