Is Leylandii chip worth owt?

[Peasgood]

Thinking out loud here a bit.

I have a few hundred leylandii to cut down and trying to make a business plan out of the job.

They are hedgeline grown and are about 100' tall on average.

The wood can be sold as logs (might even try milling some) but can the chip be sold too?

 

I know it sounds mad but no harm in asking, the alternative is to put a match to it unchipped.

 

Question is, is there a market for a large volume of leylandii chip?

[woodworm]

is would be more of a saleable product if you chipped the whole lot rather than taking the log element out of it. The value for energy is in the wood rather than the green

 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Arbtalk mobile app

[agg221]

Worth trying to work out how much you have. Say 2 tons/tree if you are taking the wood? If so you will have a few hundred tons. Roughly 4 bulk loads to the hundred tons so it's probably worth asking the relevant carriers if they are buying in your area at the moment. Demand and price seem to be very patchy.

 

The other option would be to stack it until next winter and use it as a mulch around the trees - no direct return but good for weed suppression, water retention and improving soil structure.

 

Alec

[aspenarb]

The values of timber /chip vary regionally. Around here you would get nothing for the chip but you would relatively get good money for the timber if it was stacked roadside.

 

Bob

[benedmonds]

Chip is worth between £3-£30 a tonne.

Give stobarts a ring. They might be able to provide a BIG chipper, either at no cost, or still pay you a bit..

[Peasgood]

Thanks for the replies.

This is more for within a few years rather than immediately, will look into it a bit more when the time comes.

Worse case scenario sounds like I might get it chipped and removed for free. In the particular circumstances that wouldn't be an entirely bad thing. (of course payment would be better)

[Jonny69]

If they are true 100fters then you will have more like 400-1000 tons of chip.

 

In which case I think you can get stobarts to chip it and take at no cost.

 

Or slash, burn and sell timber in 3m lengths to a biomass supplier.

 

Though if it is really big material, you will have to split in before chipping anyway.

[Rebel_Commando]

I was told of a bloke who brought in a forestry brash baler to bale the brash from a lot of leylandii. He sold several artic loads of bales to Shotton paper mill.

I wasn't told what he did with the timber though.

[Peasgood]

A friend of mine lives by the railway line in Chester. When at their house I often see long freight trains loaded with what looks like brash. Probably where that is going.

I was going to measure the height but didn't get chance today. I remember felling some and pacing them out to be 90feet, that was 10 years ago, maybe a bit more.

[Peasgood]

Measured them using the right angle triangle method, they are more like 80' tall according to that.