Broken pallets: repaired, rebuilt or ground

BOX 01Broken is not one thing

A pallet with one loose deck board and a pallet with a stringer split end to end are both "broken", but they go different ways. The first is a quick repair and comes back as Grade B. The second is dismantled for its boards. A pallet rotted through, or contaminated, is ground.

Say which kinds you have. A pile that is mostly one loose board each is worth more as repairable stock than a pile of splintered stringers, and the request should not hide the difference.

BOX 02What not to put in the pile

• Pallets stained by chemicals, oil or food spills: tell the receiver.
• Pallets that held hazardous material: say what.
• Plastic or metal pallets, or pooled pallets that belong to someone else: not part of this service.

A wet pile grows mold, and grinding mold is a nuisance for the receiver. Keep the stack off the ground if you can; see keeping pallets dry.

BOX 03The path to ground wood

Irreparable wood may be chipped for mulch, composite products or biomass (Racklify). That is the end of the line for a pallet, and a pile headed there is a clear request, not a sell. Pallets worth saving go through recycling first.

The Grade C page describes pallets that are rough but still carry a load, in case yours are better than you think.

BOX 04Sorting broken from repairable

Before you call a pile broken, sort it. Pull out any pallet with the stringers intact: even if several deck boards are missing, those are cores, which a rebuilder wants. What remains is truly broken: split stringers, crushed blocks, rotted wood.

Broken wood goes to grinding for mulch, fuel or animal bedding, depending on the processor. Treated or painted wood may be excluded. Say what the pallets held, since chemical residue changes where wood can go.

BOX 05Metal, nails and plastic

Broken wood that is full of nails, strapping or plastic wrap is harder to grind. Removing the strapping and wrap before the pile leaves the dock helps. Do not try to pull nails; a grinder with a magnet handles them. Do say if a pile includes painted or treated boards.

BOX 06Outdoor storage and decay

Broken pallets left outdoors rot faster than whole ones, since the splits let water into the wood. A pile that has been outside a year may be useless for repair even if the pallets looked fine when they broke. Say how long the pile has been there.

FAQStraight answers