New Regulations for Pressure Treated Wood
As of July 5, 2024, pressure treated wood is banned from C&D disposal sites.
How do I dispose of treated wood?
- It is recommended that you keep treated wood separate during a construction, renovation, or demolition project. This makes it easier to manage and may reduce your disposal costs.
- If treated wood is in good condition, think about reusing it.
- If you have to dispose of treated wood, you can bring it to the Regional Materials Recovery Facility. We are making upgrades to the wood separation area to accommodate the separation of treated wood. Treated wood will need to be off loaded by hand – no dump trailers.
- Burning of treated wood is not permitted.
- Contact your municipality for further information on treated wood disposal options. (902) 902-875-7026
What is treated wood?
Treated wood is wood that is chemically treated during manufacturing so that it will resist decay. During a factory treatment process, creosote, pentachlorophenol, or other chemical preservatives are injected into the wood. Treated wood does not include wood treated at home, like stained or painted wood.
How do you identify treated wood?
- New treated wood is tagged to identify the type of preservative that was used to treat the wood.
- Creosote timber is usually brown, tan, or black, with tarry-coated beams and lumber. It may leak tar when warmed. Creosote timber will often have an oily smell when new or if the wood is cut.
- Pressure-treated wood is typically green or brown in colour and has small slits where the preservative was injected into the wood during the manufacturing process.
- It should be assumed that wood from the demolition of wharves, fences, decks and retaining walls, along with old telephone poles and railway ties is treated wood.
Where is treated wood used in construction/demolition?
Treated wood is commonly used outside for things like telephone poles, railway ties, wharves, fences, decks, and retaining walls.
Is treated wood safe to use?
Treated wood is safe to use in outside construction applications. It is designed to keep the preservatives in the wood while it is in use.
New treated wood contains tags that identify the preservative, the amount of preservative retained in the wood, manufacturer, suitability for in-ground or above-ground applications, and consumer safety information on safe use. Consumer safety information would also be available through the retailer.
Why is treated wood banned from disposal at Construction and Demolition (C&D) debris disposal sites?
Treated wood is banned from disposal at C&D sites by the Province of Nova Scotia to help prevent contamination of groundwater and surface water, because:
- Over time, as treated wood decays, the chemicals that are used to preserve the wood can be released.
- Municipal solid waste landfills cells are built to prevent leakage and to detect contaminated water leakage. Contaminated water is collected and treated before discharge into the environment. C&D debris disposal cells are not built to this same standard.
Does the disposal ban apply to newly treated wood only?
No. The disposal ban applies to both new and old treated wood waste from construction or demolition activities.