Wood waste is a potential source of methane production due to its high degradable organic carbon content and an on-site storage method that is conducive to development of anaerobic conditions. Future emissions from wood waste could be even higher if waste piles must be converted to landfills by soil capping in order comply with national criteria for solid waste disposal. In order to estimate current and potential methane emission rates a set of field and laboratory measurements were undertaken. Gas samples for analysis of methane and CO2 were collected from the surface of sawdust piles using chambers placed on the pile surface, and at depths of 1.5, 3.0 and 4.6 m using a sampling probe. Two piles in each of the following age ranges were sampled: 0-1, 1-4, 3-5, and 5-8 years. In the laboratory study, sawdust samples from the 3.0 m depth were incubated under 20% CO2 in nitrogen at 32, 40 and 48°C to simulate the temperature range and anaerobic conditions occurring in typical sawdust piles. Field measurements indicated that methane comprised 20% of the biogas generated from sawdust piles. Emissions from the pile surface averaged 1.68 mg m(-2) h(-1) compared to literature estimates from landfills on the order of 0.125-125,000 mg m(-2) h(-1) (Bogner and Scott, 1995), with the low emission rates suggesting that a large percentage of the methane produced was either oxidized or otherwise consumed before reaching the pile surface. Emissions to the atmosphere estimated from annual sawdust production in the Tennessee Valley range from 15-44 metric tons per year. Incubation studies indicated highest methane generation at 32°C with a reduction in emissions in excess of 70% when the temperature was increased to 48°C. Estimates of methane production indicate that soil capping of disposed sawdust could increase methane production by 2-2.5 times over the biodegradation lifetime of the sawdust stored on-site. Assuming the global warming potential of methane is 21 times that of CO2, combustion of wood waste rather than on-site storage or capping would provide a CO2 offset of 1.2 or 3.8 tons, respectively, for each ton of sawdust burned.