The state of Georgia is replete with various manufacturing industries including textiles, clothing, aircraft, paper, paint and varnishes, bricks and tiles, glassware, and ceramics (Georgia-Industry, 2010.) In 1997, the state had a total of more than 9000 manufacturing firms, valued at $127 billion. Unfortunately, one of the significant disadvantages of having so many manufacturing facilities is that they create hazardous waste that needs to be disposed of in an environmentally safe manner. This paper will focus on the wood -building and furniture industry in Georgia, the waste associated with that industry and methods of waste disposal currently utilized as well as alternative methods of waste management for timber.

In the state of Georgia, each year, nearly 16,000,000 pallets, or wood boards, are disposed of by building as varied as hotels, hospitals, warehouses, and factories (Crumpler, 1996). The businesses that use wood to build products such as furniture create large amounts of wood waste that typically ends up in landfills as a means of disposal. Georgia has approximately 1500 manufacturers of wood products that dispose of up to 1500 yards of waste per month. Often, wood waste is burned in order to create steam and electric power. Wood waste may take various forms: sawdust, offcuts (or creating a shorter board from a long one), as well as dust. The dust generated by wood can be explosive, irritating to the people that are exposed to it, can create quality issues when it lands on fresh paint, and is problematic for people in surrounding areas (Crumpler, 1996.) As a result, dust is frequently placed in filter bags or dust collectors that end up in landfills.

Wood waste is also created by lumber yards and pulp mills and may end up in landfills if they are too large, contain nails, wire, and bullets, or are contaminated by metal. Pallets, frequently in perfect condition, are often disposed of even though they are well-suited for a number of purposes; a typical pallet contains approximately 3 pounds of steel nails (Crumpler, 1996.) Nevertheless, annually, 800,000,000 pounds of pallets are disposed of in Georgia and it is not clear what methods are used to dispose of them. That quantity of pallets would fill a landfill that would be equivalent to a football field stacked 2400 feet high (Crumpler, 1996.) Some companies grind down their wood waste including pallets, offcuts, or tree limbs, a process which cuts down on volume of waste and can make that material available for sale.

One of the major disadvantages of wood waste is cost: when wood product manufacturers in Georgia were polled regarding their waste generation and disposal, the reports ranged from $50 up to $8000 monthly (Crumpler, 1996.) Some of the smaller companies required cost of waste disposal that were upwards of $1000 per month. The disposal method involved sending wood waste to local landfills that required hauling and tipping charges. Alternative methods of disposal of wood waste included supplying horse stables with sawdust as well as wood fuel to private residences and organizations.

A significant concern regarding the use of landfills is depletion, filling them up to capacity and then creating a need to build new ones. Constructing such sites can potentially cost millions of dollars. Filling up landfill space is the most significant environmental threat connected with wood waste since it poses the problem of where to place wood waste in the future once a landfill has reached its capacity.

The issue of wood waste in Georgia has many possibilities for positive resolutions. Many companies in the state will use wood waste for beneficial reuse; in some cases, individuals or businesses will pay for wood waste. The condition of the wood is typically a factor in whether or not an individual or business can utilize it. Moisture content, contamination with soil or nails, size of the pieces, variation in piece size, and quantity are all factors that make wood waste an option or not to a specific business (Crumpler, 1996.) In addition, large quantities of wood chips can be used as fuel to provide steam and generate electricity. The advantages of this use of wood waste are that it is clean burning and low sulfur fuel. The wood can be used and burned as a heat source as well as a source of power. In addition, wood waste can sometimes be mulched in order to produce a variety of products such as covering ground for homes or businesses or outdoor decoration. Wood waste can also be used for composting, which allows it to decay and turn into soil. This can then be sold by the truckload and provided to garden supply stores.

In one novel use of wood waste, a bio-fuel company has formed an agreement with a timber group to use wood waste for a bio-coal plant in South Georgia (Vega Biofuels to Purchase Timber for Georgia Bio-Coal Plant, 2011). Vega Biofuels plans to construct a manufacturing plant that will produce green energy bio-coal that will be used in already-existing coal-powered plants. This will provide a more environmentally-friendly source of power and fuel than the use of traditional coal.

Using alternative resources have advantages as well as disadvantages. On one hand, if more people were able to utilize substitute products such as hemp if it became legal, other sources for paper such as rice paper, or purchased and utilized composite wood products, there would be less devastation to forestry both in the United States and globally. In addition, some wood products expose people to contaminants such as paint, oil, laminates, and other preservatives that threaten to subject people to toxic levels that can have damaging health effects. Using alternative resources may also not have the capacity of wood to be recycled, reused, and repaired so that its life expectancy can extend years, decades and longer.