Compressed waste paper logs

[Amy]

There are a few firewood firms in Herefordshire who grow a lot of acres of poplars and one of the biggest growers is the poplar farmers group chairman.

Bryant and May used to have thousands of acres of poplars around lakenheath in the fens for making matches.

The wood is very wet when its first cut but it dries quickly. Its a deciduous fast growing softwood.

[Stefan (S.T.E.F.)]

"Poplars are also fast growing."
Not good to burn though ... like a sponge, so hard to get dry enough, and they tend to fall to bits just as they get dry enough.  Might be OK for burning in Summer if you get them dry during a Summer month, but in Winter they'll reabsorb moisture

Unless of course your wood store is indoors 

Stefan

[Ivan]

I've always been amazed at the amount of ash that cardboard and paper produces. Much higher than wood. I put this down to the significant quantities of clay used in paper-making. Not sure what it's there for, but it ain't gonna burn.

If you have regular-sized paper - eg newspapers or A4 office waste in a neat pile. Why not simply grab a bunch and roll up in a log shape, and secure with a couple of lengths of wire twisted around the bundle. You could probably reuse the wire a few times. You could use MIG wire which is about a fiver for half a mile or so, so not exactly expensive, and a lot less hassle than making logs.

Personally, the ash puts me off using it as a main fuel source, although we do use much of our waste cardboard packaging and junk mail for starting our woodstove.