# Where do they get that sawdust? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 6, 2000, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-they-get-that-sawdust/32236 "2000-09-06T15:40:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2000, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-they-get-that-sawdust/32236/1 "2000-09-06T15:40:26Z")
I was watching an old classic movie with Charlton Heston about the circus. The Big Top? Or The Greatest Show on Earth? Anyway, there was all this sawdust under the big top. Do circuses carry it with them? They can’t possibly produce that much from construction, even in the old days. Do they get it in towns along the way? Why do they use it? Just for animal droppings? Just a strange question that popped in my head. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2000, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-they-get-that-sawdust/32236/2 "2000-09-06T15:55:14Z")
Good question - and do circuses still use sawdust these days anyway? I haven’t been to one for a very long time. I recall the butchers’ shops also used to use sawdust, presumably to soak up blood, but I don’t THINK they still do. But, then again, I do not recall any business news along the lines of “National Sawdust Producers’ Association warns of severe industry downturn and multiple job losses”. So, the answer is that I have no answer although I’m sure some wise person does. ---
**Author:** ![KevinB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c0e974/32.png) [@KevinB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KevinB)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2000, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-they-get-that-sawdust/32236/3 "2000-09-06T15:58:25Z")
Animals droppings and urine. Think of it as elephant litter. It’s not actually dust, it’s shavings (coarser). My daughter rides horses, so I’m VERY familiar with the uses of wood shavings, aka, bedding. There are companies that specialize in making wood shavings for animal bedding. Not all wood is good for bedding. All the stuff I’ve seen has been some sort of pine, and it can’t be treated with anything. I don’t think they use construction waste - you never know what that was or where it’s been. Circuses travel with large quantities of bedding, and replenish when necessary/possible. One horse can go through a large wheelbarrow of bedding every day. I can imagine how much a circus would use. Kevin B. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2000, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-they-get-that-sawdust/32236/4 "2000-09-06T17:09:11Z")
For your information, there was approximately 147,200 tons of sawdust produced by lumber mills and wood processors in 1993 (EPRI Opportunity Fuels Guidebook). Of that amount, about 142,571 tons were used by the mills themselves as fuel, and the balance (4630 tons) sold to the public, or to power plants. Logging and construction generated 102,000 tons of sawdust and other wood waste that year, of which all was either sold to the public, to power plants, or landfilled. Una ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2000, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-they-get-that-sawdust/32236/5 "2000-09-06T19:41:35Z")
You can buy sawdust from maintenance supply companies. They also make a number of other products that can be used instead of sawdust, but for more specialized purposes. For example, Oil Dry is a product used to clean up oil spills in shops or factories. It’s a lot like clay cat litter; sprinkle it over the spill, then sweep it up.