I'll soon be replacing a whole fence of panelled fencing.

These are typical overlap 6' x 6' panels.

At some point (maybe even more than once) in the last 22 years since
they were installed, they have been treated with whatever was cheap at a
guess but not likely to be creosote. I'd *like* to dispose of them in
the most garden friendly manner and least labour intensive way.

There are two realistic options.

(1) Break them up and burn them in the bin sized incinerator, adding the
ashes to the garden where plants that could do with a potash high would
like it and adding the rest of the ash to the compost heap.

(2) Take them to the tip where I have another two choices.

(a) Put them on the 'green pile'
(b) Put them on the 'used timber' pile

2a isn't going to happen I think since these are 20+ year old panels and
likely to be difficult to break down into compost and there are concerns
about what chemicals have been used on them.

2B is a tough one since I don't know what Blaby District *do* with that
pile. If they use it to fire an incinerator or to ensure a *better* mix
in the landfill I'm not certain I want to *give* them the wood.

1 presents the personal problem from the unknown chemicals. I doubt any
complex chemicals would survive the fire, but some nasties may. Putting
an ash on the flowering beds that contained a possibility of higher
levels of Arsenics from 20 years ago wouldn't have been a problem a few
years ago, but this year I'm interspersing sweet peas with peas and
ornamental lettuces are there for the eating.

My *personal* preference for the simplicity of things is to burn them.

The next question will be about preservatives, their efficacy and
price/performance.

I'm *about* to drop 4 panels into the side that my deeds say I'm not
responible for, but since that neighbour has done *all* of the side
she's not responsible for we've agreed to share the burden but not the
liability. No lawyers needed and as we're both dog owners with dogs
wanting to play causing the holes in the fence everything is more than
amicable apart from the disgust of the dogs.

So what *is* an evironmentally clean way of preserving a fence panel in
such a way that it doesn't go brittle in a few years and can be recycled
safely?

Warwick