Organic recycling company Eco Composting has opened a new facility to recycle untreated wood such as unwanted pallets and packing crates - and sawdust from the process is supplied in bulk to south coast farmers and stables.
Dorset-based Eco¹s new process will take timber from southern transport companies to produce three environmentally-friendly materials.
Untreated wood is chipped and separated into two other grades - the courser material is sent to Slough Heat & Power for producing electricity while finer material is sent to industry for the production of MDF, fibreboard and chipboard.
Slough Heat & Power is one of the few UK power stations that burns reclaimed and processed waste fuel to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Eco¹s director of sales and marketing Quinton Watts said: ³Feedback from the business community is very positive - they are only too glad to have a quick way to dispose of their pallets and crates - and recycling them is a bonus for everybody.²
³Local farmers and stables are also pleased with the quality of sawdust, which is proving ideal for their uses.²
Alongside receiving wood from companies, Eco is currently accepting untreated wood from household disposal sites.
Companies pay £19.50 per tonne to tip pallets at Eco¹s facility, which is built on a special concrete base to prevent soil, stones or rubble ending up in the products.
The installation is the first part of an expansion programme that will see four new recycling facilities installed during 2004.
Eco already recycles green garden wood as part of its organic compost production facility.
