Ever wonder where those wood chips you see on playgrounds, at golf courses, or in your garden come from? Natural wood chips are just the product of wood waste! Natural wood chips are one of the most versatile recycled wood products on the market. Typically wood fiber mulch comes from recycled wood pallets, boxes or crates. There are over two billion wood pallets currently in circulation, which means a lot of potential mulch! Add mulch to your garden to enjoy the results - less weeds, less watering, less disease. Adding wood mulch to your garden is just the tip of the iceberg, there are so many uses for this functional product.
Where is Wood Fiber Mulch used?
•Playgrounds - Over 50,000 playgrounds in North America have made great use of dense wood fiber. Wood fiber mulch has increased in popularity because of its superior qualities. The consistency provides great drainage, shock absorbency, good coverage. It is also a safe alternative to rocks or sand. Mulch is especially great for playgrounds at schools, since it's long lasting and can easily be spread around, despite the many kids that might play on it everyday.
•Trails - Wood mulch is very popular as a surface material for forest and park trails. It is easy to distribute over a trail because it is fairly lightweight. Also, the chips are manufactured to be uniform in shape, giving the trail a nice, aesthetically pleasing look. One of the best advantages of wood fiber mulch is it is ideal for wheelchair accessibility. The consistency is dense enough that wheelchairs roll smoothly and easily over it. Mulch is economical, much less expensive than pavement, and more eco-friendly.
•Gardens - It may seem obvious, but mulch can make a garden look infinitely better, particularly if you struggle with controlling weed populations. Mulch is great for landscaping in general, giving a 'clean' and consistent look to any space. Moreover, since mulch is available in a variety of colours, there are endless design possibilities.
•Animal bedding - Mulch is ideal for animal bedding since it creates a resilient, dust-free layer between animals and the mucky ground underneath. Plus, it absorbs very little moisture and stays dry for longer. Maintaining bedding is simple, wood fiber mulch lasts and spreads easily. Periodic raking is really the only maintenance required. Horse stables, chicken coops, dog kennels and even little hamster cages are perfect environments for wood fiber mulch. Animals love wood mulch, and you will too.
•Biofuel - When ground to a specific consistency, wood fiber chips create solid biomass fuel. Many organizations are now switching from coal, natural gas and electricity to biofuel. It burns clean and is only ¼ the cost of natural gas. Biofuel has gained attention because of the energy crisis and climate change. Since the fuel is widely and readily available, affordable and sustainable, it has become an alternative to other, less renewable energy sources. Wood ash and charcoal, the waste from biofuel, can effectively be returned to the soil as mineral-rich fertilizers.
Ever wonder where those wood chips you see on playgrounds, at golf courses, or in your garden come from? Read this article to learn more! Pallet Management
