Ideas to dispose of land clearing waste

[paulsharvey]

Another thought, push the piles up into 12 ft tall long, narrow pile, top with a bit of crappy dirt, and instant shoot berm. As time goes, it will grow grass, weeds, and vines, and it won't be ugly for long.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Burn at night, or fog, no smoke signature!

 

[grsthegreat]

Just get someone with a forestry mulcher to hit the area. I had a 660’ x 50’ area cleared of stumps and brush by a guy in less than 8 hrs. It would have taken me 3 summers to clear it with a chipper. He even ground down some 24” diameter stumps to nothing.

 

[riptides]

We've had the fire department visit us before. Granted it was early on in the land clearing and we think a neighbor called cause they saw smoke in the woods. I recall them showing up one other time too. The fines are pretty hefty so I prefer not to risk it.....much.

Have you talked with them about a controlled burn? They start and watch over it.

 

[paulsharvey]

In all seriousness, what's the end use, and the time line? What equipment is available? Reason I ask, even full logs piled up in contact with the soil, and even more so if they are kinda mixed with soil, leaves, soil strippings, will rot down a lot in a few years. They won't go completely way for 5+ in many cases; but the volume will probably go down 75% in 3 years, and also become chunks of solid, mixed with chunks of rotted. All of that is of coarse climate and insect dependent.

There is a reason old farms pushed that crap to a corner or a low area or up ahead a tree or ditch line. Its labor intensive and expensive to get rid of, but time does a lot of the work if fire isnt a good option

 

[paulsharvey]

On burning; there are a couple points; you likely can get a permit if you use a down draft air curtain; not really realistic for what your doing, and you likely also need a hoe to feed it, so probably not a real option.

On the smaller diameter, a good leaf blower on the hot coals does wonders to fully burn; and the other thing is, if safe, (weather, surrounding area, heck, local laws), you dont put the fire out. You let it die down at night, but let those coals process down to ash. Wouldn't do that in dry times, or windy, and as we go into winter, lot more dry and wind...

 

[airbiscuit]

I always burn at first snow. An inner tube "accidentally" placed under the pile adds a lot of heat, but not too much smoke.

 

[EscapedSuburbia]

In all seriousness, what's the end use, and the time line? What equipment is available? Reason I ask, even full logs piled up in contact with the soil, and even more so if they are kinda mixed with soil, leaves, soil strippings, will rot down a lot in a few years. They won't go completely way for 5+ in many cases; but the volume will probably go down 75% in 3 years, and also become chunks of solid, mixed with chunks of rotted. All of that is of coarse climate and insect dependent.

It must depend a lot on the soil, humdity, and logs, but here in central Indiana I have logs that have been laying on the ground for 10+ years and are not even rotted down halfway. In fact, they didn't even start showing signs of rot for the first five or so years. I would expect a pile of logs to outlast me.

 

[Hay Dude]

Burn at night, or fog, no smoke signature!

View attachment 4389172

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I did that….once…..I had neighbors at my front door asking me “WTF are you doing”?
A bonfire like that lights up the sky for about a mile.

 

[Hay Dude]

It must depend a lot on the soil, humdity, and logs, but here in central Indiana I have logs that have been laying on the ground for 10+ years and are not even rotted down halfway. In fact, they didn't even start showing signs of rot for the first five or so years. I would expect a pile of logs to outlast me.

I got into it with a Customer…you know, one of those self proclaimed “biologist” or “environmentalist” type of customer?

I suggested they burn their wood debris. They were offended at the suggestion and said it would pollute the atmosphere. Studies show that leaving logs in piles to rot slow releases methane gas, which also pollutes the atmosphere.

Plus it looks like chit while it’s sitting there rotting.