Guide

Wood waste and firewood: what to do with chips and logs

Every tree job ends with a pile of chips, brush and logs. Where that wood goes decides how much of the job you keep. This guide covers dump fees, drive time, giving chips away, selling mulch and firewood, and how to price disposal into every estimate.

By Umair Nawaz, Lirevon. Last reviewed: October 2026.

Why wood waste matters

Most owners price the cutting and forget the wood. But a removal is not done until the yard is clean and the truck is empty. The cost of getting rid of the wood is part of the job, and it can eat a big part of your profit if you do not plan for it.

Here are the costs that hide inside "haul it away."

The good news: wood is not only waste. Chips can be free mulch for a neighbor, a load for a farm, or a product you sell. Logs can become firewood or lumber. The trick is to pick the option that costs the least time, not the one that sounds the smartest.

Dump fees and drive time

Dump fees are easy to see because you pay them at the gate. Drive time is harder to see, and it can be the bigger cost. A crew of three in a chip truck, driving to a site and back, is paid the whole time.

Work out your real cost per load

You need four numbers. Use your own, not someone else's.

In plain words: cost per load = the fee + (round-trip hours x crew cost per hour) + (round-trip miles x truck cost per mile). The disposal cost calculator does the math for you, and the fuel cost calculator helps with the truck part. The results are estimates based on the numbers you type in.

To cut it: know two or three sites and use the nearest open one, dump on the way to the next job, and fill the truck before you leave.

Selling mulch

Turning chips into mulch you sell sounds like free money. It can work, but it is a second business with its own costs. Think it through first.

Big logs and good wood

Large logs are heavy, slow to move and often the most expensive part of disposal. Sometimes they are worth something. Often they are not. A few honest rules:

• Large, clean, straight hardwood logs may be worth something to a local sawmill, a woodworker or a person who makes slabs. Ask before you assume.
• Logs with nails, wire or old fence in them can damage saws and are often worth nothing to a mill. Tell buyers the truth.
• Some customers want to keep rounds for their own fireplace. Ask during the estimate, and price the job knowing what will stay on site.
• Leaving logs on site "for the customer to deal with" should be written into the estimate, so nobody is surprised.

If you are thinking about a loader, a grapple or a bigger truck to handle logs, compare buying and renting first. See the equipment guide and the buy vs rent tool.

A yard and disposal checklist

Work through this list once, then review it each month.

1. List every dump site, compost yard and green-waste site near your area, with phone, hours and real prices.
2. Start a free chip sign-up list on your website and sort it by neighborhood.
3. Ask two or three farms, barns or landscapers if they take chips or logs, and what they will not accept.
4. Add a "haul away and disposal" line to every estimate.
5. Offer a "wood stays on site" option and write it down clearly.
6. Before you keep wood at a yard, check local rules for storage, pile size and fire safety.
7. Before you sell firewood, check your state rules on measuring, selling and moving firewood.
8. Track loads for one month: where each load went, the fee, the drive time.
9. Review once a month and drop the options that cost more than they save.

Saving on wood waste helps, but the biggest gains for most small tree companies still come from catching more of the calls they already get. If you want help there, see our services and pricing, or ask for a free audit. Lirevon is new and has no tree-service clients yet, with first case studies planned for December 2026, so this guide uses no client results. Every cost here is your own number to fill in.

Know your costs with the terms variable cost, job costing and chip truck. Wood from sick trees can spread pests, so see the tree problems pages, and use the tree library to learn which species burn well. Quick answers are on the answers hub.