[Eclipse Now]

Do treated pine fences ever become 'safe' to burn?

[modest]

No. That would be a bad idea and I hope you don't mean in a fireplace. Even outside, it's a bad idea. You'd end up with a pile of ash full of arsenic which is going to cost more to clean up than the wood itself.

Another bad idea is mulching it. The way I look at this - whatever the cost of disposing of treated wood at your proper municipal landfill, it's better than spreading it around your yard in any other disposal attempt. One of those boards has enough arsenic to kill your whole family and then there's the cancer.

Short answer: never safe.

~modest

[HydrogenBond]

It depends on the age of the pressure treated lumber. Many years back the amount of arsenic was much higher. There were law suits when some children were injured because of wood slivers. The industry lowered the amount of arsenic to avoid potential law suits. Being an old fence it may have the higher arsenic levels.

What I would do is recycle it. Stack it neatly in front of your house with a sign that says free pressured treated wood or fencing. There may be someone out there who might be able to use it. If not, it is ready for the landfill. That is the proper way to dispose of it since landfills are leach proof.

As far as burning it, if you do decide that make sure you stand up wind and hold your breath if the wind starts to shift.

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by HydrogenBond

As far as burning it, if you do decide that make sure you stand up wind and hold your breath if the wind starts to shift.

Yes. Exactly. That way, the cancer you cause will only impact your neighbors and not yourself. Good thinking, HB.

[Nitack]

Originally Posted by InfiniteNow

Yes. Exactly. That way, the cancer you cause will only impact your neighbors and not yourself. Good thinking, HB.

Depends on how you get along with your neighbors...

[Eclipse Now]

What the heck are we doing using this stuff anyway? 4 million people in Sydney Australia = roughly 1 million households of 4 people...
say 50% of that is suburban homes with the cheap treated pine fences....
= 500 thousand fences of treated pine being dumped every 30 years.

That's about 16 to 17 thousand treated pine fences each and every year... very roughly speaking. (Treated pine seems to be THE cheap way to build a fence in Sydney Australia).

What on earth?
Can't we 'slow down' and only use more natural building materials, like waiting for hard-woods to actually grow to maturity? What's wrong with modern business?

[Moontanman]

Originally Posted by InfiniteNow

Yes. Exactly. That way, the cancer you cause will only impact your neighbors and not yourself. Good thinking, HB.

Hey, priorities have to maintained, sacrifices have to be made

[Moontanman]

Originally Posted by Eclipse Now

What the heck are we doing using this stuff anyway? 4 million people in Sydney Australia = roughly 1 million households of 4 people...
say 50% of that is suburban homes with the cheap treated pine fences....
= 500 thousand fences of treated pine being dumped every 30 years.

That's about 16 to 17 thousand treated pine fences each and every year... very roughly speaking. (Treated pine seems to be THE cheap way to build a fence in Sydney Australia).

What on earth?
Can't we 'slow down' and only use more natural building materials, like waiting for hard-woods to actually grow to maturity? What's wrong with modern business?

Where I live at hardwoods rot faster than anything else, Termites seem to prefer hardwood. Redwood can be used but only the very rich can afford to be so environmentally conscious and cutting down redwood trees is not all that popular these days either. Bald cypress is good but again it is expensive and in limited supply. With out treated wood we would need to spray extremely strong poisons everywhere we use wood in contact with the ground or exposed to weather. Catch 22

[modest]

A few years ago I built a deck for my sister using untreated planks. She had small children who played on it with bare feet so we decided natural was better. She's done her best to weather protect it but it hasn't lasted maybe a third as long as it would have. The planks will have to be replaced by winter. So, it's a bother. But, they don't use arsenic here in the states anymore. EPA stopped it in 2004 - they use a couple different copper compounds now. And, there's also composite plastic wood.

~modest

[Eclipse Now]

I'm not a scientist let alone advanced chemist... how's that composite wood stack up in terms of biodegradability or how recyclable it is at the end of it's lifespan? I'm into "Cradle to Cradle" design, looking for the next use of a product after this incarnation is over.

Also... aren't many plastics full of dangerous endocrine disruptors? How's that North Pacific Gyre going?