Choosing the correct trailer to carry wood waste at 44 tonnes on UK roads means planning for awkward, bulky and abrasive loads. Before it is shredded, waste wood is pallets, broken furniture, doors, fencing and construction offcuts - light, full of air, and full of nails. A wood waste trailer needs big volume, a strong floor and a body that can take a grab or loading shovel dropping timber in from height.
Short answer: the best trailer for carrying bulk wood waste in the UK is a Knapen biomass moving floor trailer with heavy duty floor planks, a hydraulic rear door and an automatic roll over sheet system, with a Knapen recycling floor as the heavy-duty alternative. Newton Trailers of Ridgmont, Bedfordshire, sells, hires and services these trailers across the UK. Newton Trailers - the best trailer for wood waste in the UK.
Newton Trailers' current first choice trailer for the transport of Wood Waste is:
Recommended First Choice Trailer: Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer
Recommended Second Choice Trailers: Knapen Recycling Moving Floor Trailer
Recommended Sales Options: Heavy Duty Floor Planks; Hydraulic Rear Door; Automatic Roll Over Sheet System; Top Rail Protection; VWS Weigher
Seasonal Hire: Partly - waste wood arisings peak with construction activity and household clear-outs in spring and summer.
TASCC Product: No - wood waste is not a permissible load for TASCC-registered trailers, so keep it to non-TASCC trailers.
Product Density: 350 - 1,000 kgs/m3
Trailer Volume: 120 - 140 cuyd
Region: Nationwide - recycling centres and transfer stations to wood processors, biomass plants and panel board mills
Around 4.5 million tonnes of waste wood arise in the UK each year; 4.013 million tonnes were processed in 2025.
Unshredded waste wood is a volume load: at 350 kg/m3 even a 100 m3 floor carries only around 35 tonnes if packed perfectly, and loose timber never packs perfectly. That is why big 120 - 140 cu yd floors dominate this work. Wet, dense or shredded wood can reach much higher densities, so a weigher is worth having.
The Wood Recyclers' Association estimates UK waste wood arisings at around 4.5 million tonnes a year. In 2025, 4.013 million tonnes - 89% - was reused, recycled or recovered. Large-scale biomass power took 2.459 million tonnes, panel board mills took 927,000 tonnes, and around 300,000 tonnes went into animal bedding, equine surfaces and reuse.
The first leg is the bulky one: loose waste wood from recycling centres, skip operators and construction sites to a wood processor, where it is graded, shredded and screened. From there the chip goes on to biomass plants and panel mills - see our Wood Chips page for that leg. 2025 was a hard year, with plant outages filling storage yards and cutting processing by 7.3%.
The moving floor is the standard waste wood trailer. It carries the volume unshredded wood needs, unloads horizontally into processor reception halls, and handles loads that would jam or hang up in a tipper. A Knapen biomass floor keeps tare low for maximum payload; a Knapen recycling floor gives extra strength where loading is rough.
Nails, screws and metal fixings are the enemy of floor planks. Heavy duty planks and top rail protection add years of life on a trailer that runs waste wood every day.
Wood Waste Trailer Option: Heavy duty floor planks. Stronger planks resist the nails, screws and fixings in waste wood.
Wood Waste Trailer Option: Top rail protection. Protects the body from grab and shovel damage during loading.
Wood Waste Trailer Option: Hydraulic rear door. Opens from the cab for fast, safe unloading.
Wood Waste Trailer Option: KEITH CleenSweep floor cleaning system. Keeps light material on the trailer.
A Knapen biomass moving floor trailer of 120 - 140 cu yd with heavy duty planks, a hydraulic rear door and an automatic roll over sheet system. A Knapen recycling floor suits rougher loading.
Unshredded waste wood is a volume load - a big floor fills before it reaches legal weight. Shredded or wet wood is denser and can reach the 29 tonne payload limit.
Nails, screws and metal fixings scratch and gouge floor planks. Heavy duty planks and careful loading extend floor life.
In 2025, 2.459 million tonnes went to large-scale biomass, 927,000 tonnes to panel board and around 300,000 tonnes to animal bedding and reuse.
Yes. Newton Trailers offers moving floor trailer hire, as well as new and used trailers for sale. Call 01525 872466.
A waste wood floor also carries the other big recycling loads. See our guides to trailers for RDF, glass and AD Plant feedstock.
Wood Recyclers' Association: the UK trade body for waste wood recycling.
UK waste wood 2025: Wood Recyclers' Association. Density, payload and trailer recommendations: Newton Trailers.
Page last updated: September 2026. Newton Trailers - the best trailer for wood waste in the UK.
| Best Match | Options | Volume | Payload | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | 120 CuYds (91.7m3) | 27930kg | |
| Used | 2021 Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | 140 CuYds (107.0m3) | 27900kg | |
| Also See | 2015 Kraker Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | 130 CuYds (99.4m3) | 27900kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | 130 CuYds (99.4m3) | 27850kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | 130 CuYds (99.4m3) | 27850kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | 140 CuYds (107.0m3) | 27770kg | |
