Recycling & Salvage

Rescue Wood, Reduce Waste

Every year, thousands of tons of reusable lumber end up in Idaho landfills. Our recycling and salvage program intercepts that waste stream — recovering quality wood from demolition sites, renovation projects, and construction overruns, then processing it for reuse.

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What We Recycle

Wood That Deserves Better Than a Landfill

We accept a wide range of wood waste for recycling and salvage. If it's solid wood and not contaminated, we can likely find a use for it.

Demolition Lumber

Framing, sheathing, joists, rafters, and studs recovered from residential and commercial teardowns. Our crews work with demolition contractors to carefully dismantle structures and maximize the amount of reusable material.

Renovation Waste

Flooring, trim, siding, and framing removed during remodels. Even material that seems too damaged for reuse can often be resawn or repurposed. We sort by species and grade on-site when possible.

Construction Overruns

Surplus dimensional lumber, offcuts, and end pieces from active job sites. Many contractors generate 10–15% waste on framing projects alone — we turn that scrap into inventory.

Agricultural Buildings

Barn wood, fence posts, corral lumber, and agricultural outbuilding materials. Idaho's rural landscape is rich with aging agricultural structures that contain some of the finest old-growth timber available.

Pallet & Crating Stock

Used pallets, shipping crates, and industrial dunnage. We dismantle, de-nail, and sort pallet stock for reuse as raw material for new pallets, fencing, and small projects.

Storm & Fire Damage

Salvageable timber from trees downed by storms, wildfire-affected standing dead timber, and structural lumber from fire-damaged buildings (where not compromised by heat).

Demolition Salvage

Deconstruction Over Demolition

Traditional demolition treats an entire building as waste — everything goes into the dumpster, from framing lumber to hardwood flooring. Deconstruction takes a different approach: the building is carefully disassembled to recover reusable materials before anything goes to the landfill.

Boise Lumber partners with demolition contractors and property owners to integrate deconstruction into their teardown plans. Our salvage crews identify and remove high-value lumber before the machines move in. This typically adds one to three days to a project timeline, but the material recovered often offsets a significant portion of the demolition cost — and in some cases generates revenue for the property owner.

We provide a detailed salvage assessment before work begins, outlining the estimated volume and value of recoverable material. For property owners, this assessment is free. For demolition contractors looking to add salvage services to their offerings, we offer partnership agreements with revenue-sharing arrangements.

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What We Typically Recover

Structural Beams & Posts

80–95%

Heavy timber is almost always recoverable unless severely rotted or fire-damaged.

Framing Lumber

60–80%

Studs, joists, and rafters. Recovery rate depends on fastener type and assembly method.

Hardwood Flooring

70–90%

Tongue-and-groove flooring can be carefully removed for reuse or resurfacing.

Siding & Trim

50–70%

Exterior material varies widely based on weathering, paint condition, and wood species.

Doors & Millwork

40–60%

Solid wood doors, window frames, and architectural details are recovered where feasible.

Construction Waste

Job Site Waste Diversion Programs

The average new home construction project in Idaho generates between 3 and 7 tons of waste, and lumber represents the single largest component of that waste stream. Cut-offs, damaged boards, over-ordered stock, and form lumber all end up in the construction dumpster.

Our job site diversion program gives contractors an alternative. We place a dedicated lumber collection bin on your site, and our crew picks it up on a scheduled basis. Clean wood waste is sorted at our facility — usable material enters our inventory, and the remainder is chipped for mulch, animal bedding, or biomass fuel.

For contractors pursuing green building certifications (LEED, NGBS, Built Green), our program provides documented waste diversion data that counts toward certification credits. We issue diversion certificates for every pickup, tracking weight and diversion rate by project.

Program Benefits

✓Reduce disposal costs by 30–50% compared to mixed-waste dumpsters
✓Meet green building certification waste diversion requirements
✓Receive diversion certificates with weight and rate documentation
✓Flexible pickup scheduling — weekly, bi-weekly, or on-call
✓No sorting required on-site — just separate wood from other waste
✓Available across the Treasure Valley for residential and commercial sites
✓Revenue share on high-value material recovered from your waste stream

Environmental Impact

The Numbers Behind the Mission

3M+

Board Feet Diverted

Lumber saved from Idaho landfills since 2011

2,400

Tons of CO₂ Saved

Estimated carbon emissions avoided through reclamation

18,000+

Trees Preserved

Equivalent trees not harvested thanks to reclaimed material

92%

Diversion Rate

Of all wood waste we receive, 92% is recycled or reused

When lumber is landfilled, it decomposes anaerobically and releases methane — a greenhouse gas roughly 80 times more potent than CO₂ over a 20-year period. By diverting lumber from the waste stream, we prevent those methane emissions while simultaneously reducing the demand for newly harvested timber.

Reclaiming one board foot of lumber saves approximately 3.6 pounds of CO₂ equivalent emissions when you account for avoided landfill methane, avoided harvesting energy, and avoided manufacturing emissions. Over 3 million board feet, that impact adds up to a meaningful contribution to Idaho's climate goals.

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Our Process

From Waste Stream to Inventory

Collection

Material arrives via our salvage crews, contractor drop-offs, or scheduled job-site pickups.

Sorting

Wood is separated by species, dimension, and condition. Non-wood contaminants are removed.

De-Nailing

Industrial de-nailing equipment removes all metal fasteners. Boards are metal-detected before milling.

Processing

Reusable lumber is planed, resawn, or milled to dimension. Non-reusable wood is chipped for mulch or biomass.

Inventory

Finished material is graded, tagged, and stocked in our covered yard — ready for sale or custom orders.

Have Wood Waste? We'll Take It.

Whether you're a demolition contractor with a building to tear down, a homeowner with a pile of old fence boards, or a builder looking to divert job site waste — we have a program for you.

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