I started dabbling in resin turning and given that plastic particles seem to be in everything now, I am wondering what the members are saying about resin turnings disposal. I checked through the articles and videos and could not find anything that addresses the issue. My wood shavings, for the most part, make compost and mulch. But I am at a loss as to what to do with the left overs of turning resin products. AAW has always seemed to take an ethical and environmentally sensitive position on turning as a profession and as a hobby.
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Disposal of resin turnings
- Thread starter Rich Gebhardt
- Start date
I would guess it gets bagged and goes to the landfill?
The stringy/clingy shavings (that get everywhere) and their disposal, smelly dust/chemicals, cost of resin and all the extra equipment and tools are just a few of the obstacles that keep me from trying it.
The stringy/clingy shavings (that get everywhere) and their disposal, smelly dust/chemicals, cost of resin and all the extra equipment and tools are just a few of the obstacles that keep me from trying it.
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Likewise with Darryl - I tried some epoxy resin turnings once (and a freebie acrylic blank I got from somewhere) and just from those 2 experiences with the shavings along were enough to turn me off permanently from doing any turnings with Resins.
Because much of my waste/shavings goes to my Brother (their chickens love it for dust bathing) I try to keep my wood shavings clean (as opposed to stuff with dust/dirt/debris, etc swept off the floor - Those will go into the dump trailer which carts yard waste and other stuff to the burn pile out back...
If you are in a rural enough area with suitable farmland or some such where you could have a brush pile (from land clearing or whatever) that you can burn (have to check with local fire dept to be sure you don't try burning during wildfire season or some such) It could go into such a pile, otherwise your only choice pretty much is bag & haul to local landfill -
So in a nutshell, I will not be one of those turners that does Epoxy or Resin art work. Aside from that, the stringy clingy mess of shavings that gets everywhere (I still find stray shavings now and then from 2 years ago from that resin project) are the other primary reason I hate turning resin/epoxy/acrylics - To say nothing of the ramifications of the dust/air quality issues you may see if you do enough of that work.
Upshot is- I have no real suggestions what to do with the mess, so I'd have to guess it gets bagged for landfill waste (And I have to wonder if it eventually will not become another "HazMat Residue" that gets banned from landfills requiring very expensive environmental disposal procedures.)
Because much of my waste/shavings goes to my Brother (their chickens love it for dust bathing) I try to keep my wood shavings clean (as opposed to stuff with dust/dirt/debris, etc swept off the floor - Those will go into the dump trailer which carts yard waste and other stuff to the burn pile out back...
If you are in a rural enough area with suitable farmland or some such where you could have a brush pile (from land clearing or whatever) that you can burn (have to check with local fire dept to be sure you don't try burning during wildfire season or some such) It could go into such a pile, otherwise your only choice pretty much is bag & haul to local landfill -
So in a nutshell, I will not be one of those turners that does Epoxy or Resin art work. Aside from that, the stringy clingy mess of shavings that gets everywhere (I still find stray shavings now and then from 2 years ago from that resin project) are the other primary reason I hate turning resin/epoxy/acrylics - To say nothing of the ramifications of the dust/air quality issues you may see if you do enough of that work.
Upshot is- I have no real suggestions what to do with the mess, so I'd have to guess it gets bagged for landfill waste (And I have to wonder if it eventually will not become another "HazMat Residue" that gets banned from landfills requiring very expensive environmental disposal procedures.)
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I turn PVC on occasionally for vacuum chucks and rings for testing ball roundness.
I let students keep the rings in workshops so I might turn a dozen rings at a time.
PVC is easy to clean up because the shaving doesn’t break and sometimes just wraps around the live center.
Before toss it in the trash trash bag I cut it first into short lengths - treat it like monofilament
Our county landfill is a feeding ground for eagles. I’d hate to read about a dead eagle with PVC tangled talons.
The county sheriff’s radio tower is nearby and well known birding site. In the winter it often has over 70 eagles roost there for the night.
I let students keep the rings in workshops so I might turn a dozen rings at a time.
PVC is easy to clean up because the shaving doesn’t break and sometimes just wraps around the live center.
Before toss it in the trash trash bag I cut it first into short lengths - treat it like monofilament
Our county landfill is a feeding ground for eagles. I’d hate to read about a dead eagle with PVC tangled talons.
The county sheriff’s radio tower is nearby and well known birding site. In the winter it often has over 70 eagles roost there for the night.
In our rural area most people don't even recycle plastic (bottles, toothpaste tubes, etc.). All of this plastic goes into the landfill. I do turn acrylic. I collect all the shavings, tie them in a plastic grocery bag and put them in the trash for collection. Considering all the plastic that goes to the landfill, acrylic shavings are probably a small percentage of the total.