They're Adding Value To Waste Wool

They're Adding Value To Waste Wool 32-1-8 Two Oregon sheep producers have come up with a new way to use low quality wool for house insulation. Their machine chops up the wool so it can be blown into place. The chopped wool can also be blown into pet pads and other products they have developed, but insulation offers the biggest market yet. "It's an all natural and sustainable product," says Joel Pynch, a Halsey, Oregon sheep producer. "We expect to charge around $2.50/sq. ft. with depth for an R19 value. Roving or batt wool insulation is now being sold in Canada for $6.50/lb." That's not bad for poor quality wool that currently often goes to the landfill, says Pynch. Wool is ideal as a natural insulation. It has to reach 800 degrees before it burns, and it has a natural pest and rodent resistance. It also pulls out moisture, holding 30 percent of its weight and preventing the formation of molds and fungi. These qualities are all enhanced by a boric acid wash that leaves borate crystals adhered to the fibers. It also has excellent sound insulation qualities, much better than other forms of insulation. Pynch and fellow Oregon sheep producer Margaret Magruder formed Oregon Shepherd to find new uses for the wool. Magruder is also president of the American Lamb Board. For the past six years, they've been searching for alternative markets for their wool. Changing preferences for wool has lowered the demand for much of the wool produced in the Pacific Northwest. Decreasing quality due to increased use of hair-type sheep and colored wool sheep has further lowered demand. The hair type and colored wool has to be separated from the higher quality wool by hand, as neither can take a dye. Rather than spend the money, the mixed quality wool often gets thrown out. That drives down income and encourages producers out of the business. Pynch and Magruder knew they had to find ways to add value to wool to stop the industry decline. Initial products included sleeping pads for pets, survival blankets, a moistened fire retardant blanket, slip-on covers for dirty boots and shoes, felt blankets for use around seedlings to keep down weeds and pests, and stadium pillows. In trials, the seedling blankets even appear to repel beavers from tree seedlings. "These products were a trickle but we needed a major market," explains Pynch. They knew that wool bat insulation was being used in New Zealand and Australia and has been accepted in Europe. Working with a group of retired volunteer executives, they did a market survey. Positive results in hand, they plan to start production soon. "We chop the wool into short lengths to reduce it to a flowable product," says Pynch. "Once we could get it in blown form, we knew we could form it most anyway we wanted." Although the wool insulation will cost more than some alternatives, Pynch believes the added value and natural content will attract customers. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Oregon Shepherd LLC, 12589 Hwy. 30, Clatskanie, Oregon 97016 (ph 503 728-2945; www.oregonshepherd.net) or Joel Pynch, 25863 Center School Rd., Halsey Ore. 97348 (ph 541-466-5344).

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