Assessment of wood waste generated in selected sawmills in Kajola local government area of Oyo state

Abstract

This study was carried out in selected sawmills in Kajola Local Government Area of Oyo State to assess the volume of wood waste generated in their various forms during log conversion into sawn timber. Ten (10) sawmills were randomly selected in the area for the study and in each sawmill, ten (10) logs were sampled for conversion making a total of one hundred (100) logs. Some of the logs sampled included Melicia exceisa, Terminalia superba, Ceiba petandenra, Annogeisus leiocarpus and Danieila oliverii. Through and through sawing method was used for the logs conversion. Before conversion, input volume was determined while volume of lumber recovered, percentage of lumber recovery, volume of sawdust, slabs and bark were also determined. The result showed that Temidire sawmill had 80.23% which revealed the highest percentage of lumber recovery while Babameta sawmill had 70.09%, with least percentage of lumber recovery. Correlation analysis revealed that there was high positive significant relationship between top girth, basal girth and input volume of logs while others have no significant relationship among the factors considered. If the volume of wood waste generated in different forms can be reduced at any particular time, sawn board available for household use and construction industries will increase, hence, minimize the rate of exploitation of the forest.

Keywords: Wood waste, Sawmills, Kerf, Conversion, Lumber recovery, Timber species