Recycled pallets: repaired, sorted and back in service

BOX 01Where a recycled pallet comes from

A recycled pallet starts as a core: a used pallet that a shipper no longer needs. The core goes to a recycler, who inspects it, replaces broken deck boards, swaps cracked stringers or plugs them, and sends it back into use. Irreparable wood may be chipped for mulch, composite products or biomass (Racklify).

That cycle is why the same pallet can ride Memphis freight several times: a Southaven medical-supply dock sheds cores, a recycler rebuilds them, and a plant in Collierville buys them back as Grade B.

BOX 02Recycled, remanufactured and combo

The words overlap. Recycled is the broad one. Remanufactured usually means a pallet taken apart and rebuilt from sound parts. Combo means a rebuild from a mix of recycled and new lumber. If a request says only recycled, expect Grade B; if it needs a particular standard, say so.

BOX 03Is it right for your load?

Recycled pallets suit outbound freight where the pallet is a tool, not a presentation: parts, hardware, packaged goods moving between buildings. They suit less well where the customer unpacks the pallet on camera, or where a food line needs spotless wood. For those, ask for Grade A or new.

If your own dock produces cores, the loop closes both ways. You can send them to be recycled and buy repaired stock against the same request.

BOX 04What to ask about the repair

Recycled pallets are repaired from cores, so ask how many boards in a pallet are new and how many are reused. A pallet with one new board and the rest old is very different from one that was rebuilt with new deck boards on a reused frame. Both are recycled, and both can be fine for the right load.

For a heavy load, ask whether the stringers are original. A repaired stringer is a weak spot, so a rack that holds a thousand pounds should be loaded with pallets whose stringers are known to be sound.

BOX 05Recycled and the environment

Rebuilding a pallet uses less new lumber than making one from scratch, which is the usual argument for recycled pallets. The size of the saving depends on how much new wood goes into the rebuild. The amount varies with the rebuild.

BOX 06Reuse comes before recycling

Per Wikipedia, heavy-duty pallets are designed to be used many times and lightweight ones for a single use. Costlier block pallets usually travel on a deposit and are returned or resold as used, while cheap softwood pallets are often treated as expendable. Pallet wood has also been recycled into furniture wood by at least one company. With about two billion pallets in use in the United States, repair and rebuild keep a large stock of wood moving.

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