Plastic pallet recycling in South Carolina: what the yards hold and where it goes

How South Carolina compares

Across 527 establishments, warehousing and storage in South Carolina employed 27,150 people in 2025. That is 1.43% of the national total and puts the state 21st of 50, with an average of 51.5 jobs per site.

The state sits in the South Atlantic, a Census division. Its sites average 51.5 jobs against 81.5 across the country, and it holds 2.26% of the nation's warehousing establishments.

Where the warehousing jobs sit in South Carolina

The counties with the most warehousing jobs, from the same BLS count: Lexington (5,481), York (3,009) and Greenville (2,870).

• Lexington County5,481 jobs, 20.2% of the South Carolina total.
• York County3,009 jobs, 11.1% of the South Carolina total.
• Greenville County2,870 jobs, 10.6% of the South Carolina total.

What fills the yards in South Carolina

5 further industries are named in the market data for South Carolina. Each retires pallets for its own reasons.

• Chemical manufacturing22,678 private jobs in 2025, 2.5% of the US total. 48 x 48 pallets for four 55-gallon drums without overhang, 45 x 45 CP9 pallets for bags and boxes, often heavy-duty with sumps. Chemical resistance is why plastic is chosen. Wear, leaks and spills retire them. CP9 changes retire a whole footprint. In a pile from here, photograph any staining and the drum seats.
• Motor vehicle parts manufacturing21,585 private jobs in 2025, 4.1% of the US total. End of a vehicle programme, change of a customer container, wear on heavy loads. A supplier that served one assembler can hold thousands of one footprint. Uniform stock is easy to describe: one footprint, one colour, one maker. Say if oil or metal swarf was on the decks. In a pile from here, photograph the stack and a runner close up.
• Motor vehicle manufacturing15,531 private jobs in 2025, 5.4% of the US total. A model change or a supplier change retires a footprint. Heavy dynamic loads wear runners. Plants run returnable programmes, so pallets that leave the loop are noticed. 48 x 45 pallets matched to bulk containers for parts, heavy duty, closed loop with known sites. In a pile from here, photograph the plant or supplier markings.
• Plastics product manufacturing13,499 private jobs in 2025, 2.3% of the US total. Pallets for resin bags and finished goods, 48 x 40 and 43 x 43 for bulk bags. Moulders may also make pallets. In a pile from here, photograph moulded codes and maker marks.
• Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing6,517 private jobs in 2025, 1.9% of the US total. Validation changes, cleanroom upgrades and audits retire pallets in lots. Pallets are often kept sound and retired for compliance, not damage. In a pile from here, photograph the deck surface and any batch plates.

The rest of South Carolina's pallet economy

Private jobs in 2025: food manufacturing 17,789, pharmaceutical manufacturing 6,517, motor vehicle assembly 15,531 and auto parts 21,585. Measured against the national share of employment, motor vehicle manufacturing is the most concentrated pallet-using industry here, at 3.7 times.

What the size of the state means

South Carolina is a mid-table warehouse state. The jobs sit in a few places, and a pile outside them is the exception. Give the ZIP early, because distance to the nearest cluster decides how a load is placed.

Big metros elsewhere in the South Atlantic

Against South Carolina's 27,150 warehousing jobs, the largest metros in the same division are Atlanta, Georgia (49,050, 1.81 times), Miami, Florida (22,104, 0.81 times), Charlotte, North Carolina (18,437, 0.68 times), Jacksonville, Florida (15,384, 0.57 times), Orlando, Florida (13,928, 0.51 times) and Tampa, Florida (13,205, 0.49 times).

Next to South Carolina

The table sets the warehousing counts of Georgia and North Carolina against South Carolina.

Metros we cover in South Carolina

Charleston and Greenville each have a page with ZIPs, counties and a corridor note.

• Charleston-North Charleston3,242 warehousing jobs, 49th of 60 metros. ZIPs 29456, 29483, 29405.
• Greenville-Anderson-Greer4,575 warehousing jobs, 47th of 60 metros. ZIPs 29651, 29673, 29611.

Marked pallets in South Carolina

We found no South Carolina law on abandoned pooled pallets in the sources behind this page. A mark still means a likely owner, so South Carolina loads get the same ownership check as any other.

Describing a South Carolina load

Begin with the South Carolina ZIP and the count, then the footprint. A chemical manufacturing pile calls for photos of any staining and the drum seats. For motor vehicle parts manufacturing, take the stack and a runner close up.