Progress on alternate uses for wool has been severely restricted by its categorisation as a category three waste product by the EU, the annual conference of the Agricultural History Society of Ireland (AHSI) was told last weekend.
Wool has potential as a fertiliser and as insulation, it is currently being trialled for use in bog restoration and sand dune protection, and for various applications in horticulture. In the forestry sector it is even being used to make furniture!
However, wool must be reclassified by the authorities in Brussels to enable these other uses to be fully explored and researched, the conference heard.
Permit
The category three classification means wool is treated similarly to other animal by-products which are not intended for human consumption.
“Because of that classification, I can’t even drive to farmers’ yards and collect wool without a waste permit,” explained Sinead Grimes of Forum Connemara. “Farmers have to bring the wool to us instead – it’s ridiculous,” she added.
Grimes outlined the work being undertaken by Forum Connemara into possible uses for wool.
She said research had identified natural methods for cleaning wool which may negate the need for scouring – especially where the wool is being used outside.
The outside uses being examined by Forum Connemara include the use of wool logs in bog restoration work to stop the leaching of organic matter, Grimes explained.
This had the potential to create a sizeable market for wool, she claimed.
Trials have also been carried out into using wool as insulation and fertiliser in horticulture – such as in blueberry production. This has given positive results, Grimes said, as had the use of wool as a protection for saplings.
“Deer hate the smell and taste of dirty fleeces,” she maintained.
Oil and algal bloom
The possibility of using wool booms to remove oil and algal bloom has also been examined.
Grimes was joined on the panel by Mayo sheep farmers Richard Mannion and Mícheál McDonnell – both of whom are also active in the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA).
Louisburgh farmer Mannion agreed with Grimes that reclassifying wool is the key to developing alternative outlets for the product.
He explained that he has been composting all his wool and using it as a fertiliser for the last seven years.
“I have replaced most of the chemical fertiliser on the farm now, although I use a few bags of protected urea to kickstart the growth,” he explained.
“What I find is that the wool compost really works. If wool was reclassified then I could pelletise it and sell it,” Mannion pointed out.
“Anything we do needs to be scalable, it needs to be big,” explained McDonnell.
Scale
He farms in the Erriff Valley near Leenane, and said scale was essential to take the volume of wool from hill flocks that is currently struggling to find a home. Grimes is convinced there is a role and market for upland wool outside of the traditional outlets in the production of textiles and carpets.
When asked from the floor what other countries were doing, she said New Zealand was putting big volumes into home insulation, while Spain was making wool into a liquid fertiliser.
“Wool is part of the picture for regenerative farming in Ireland. It’s not the answer in itself, but it is a leg of the stool,” she maintained.
The AHSI conference was held in the Leenane Hotel in Galway and was sponsored by the Irish meat processor Kepak.
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