How to Recycle a Wood Floor
If you’re remodelling your home, and are environmentally conscious, it will be useful to know how to recycle a wood floor. Is there anything to be done with old floorboards instead of throwing them out? Turns out, there are many options to recycle a wood floor.
As many engineered wood boards have a drop lock system, they can be easily removed and refitted, but it must be done correctly. You can either resell them or give them away for free to anyone in your local area or on platforms like Facebook Marketplace.
As the wood floor boards would have been used, and may be worn, you won’t fetch a high price for them, but it's better than throwing them into a skip!
Both solid wood and engineered wood floors can be sent to most household recycling centres, don’t throw them in a regular recycling bin, wood and timber is not accepted in recycling bins. A quick Google search will bring up lists of recycling centres near you, or you might be able to find them on your local council’s website, but this could vary by council.
Use the material for your own projects!
Wood is a versatile material, and in the hands of a skilled craftsman, old hardwood can be remade into many things.
In our own office, we have two beautiful tables. Big, enough space for everything we could need to work and more, and the tops are made out of floorboards! The natural grains of the wood with the dark tone really bring a natural feel to the office.
We have our own branded coasters! Forever keeping our desks clean from the copious amounts of coffee we drink. Check out the images below.
Other products to be made of old wood can include simple items like shelves or picture frames, onto more complex things like household furniture and wood toys. There are many examples of wood chairs, cupboards, wardrobes, and tables being made from old repurposed wood, but this does require a decent amount of skill, so it's worth doing your homework before taking on such a task.
Other disposal methods
People tend to burn scrap wood for bonfires or things like that. If the wood has not been painted, then it is fine to burn. Any paint could release toxic chemicals into the air that are hazardous for people to breathe. We advise that you do not burn any old wood flooring, and opt to recycle it instead. As it is a raw material, it might save the need for more trees to be cut down.
Summary
Overall, when it comes to how to recycle a wood floor, you have a few options which we will briefly summarise from the article:
Take them to a household recycling centre
Sell them locally
Reuse the material for your own projects