Bulletin 053 ยท faq
Plastic pallet recycling questions come down to four: can it be recycled, what do you need to see, whose are the pallets, and what happens to them. Answers are below.
Five questions and a photo. We say what we think happens next once the pallets have been seen.
These answers are general. They do not set a price, a date or a minimum, because those depend on the lot, the place and the day. If your question is about a specific load, the quote form is the right place for it, and the reply will answer the question for that load.
Each answer is kept short and links to the longer page on the subject. Start with the question nearest to yours, follow the link, and come back to the form when you know what you want to ask.
Write to the address on the contact page and name the page you were reading. A question asked twice becomes an answer on the page.
Anything about price, schedule, weight limits or a contract belongs in a conversation about your lot, not on a general page. We would rather say that than guess.
If an answer here looks wrong for your state or your pallet type, tell us. We would prefer to correct a page than leave a mistake standing.
Yes. Cracked, crushed and burnt HDPE and PP pallets are normal feedstock. They are sorted by resin and colour and ground into regrind.
Almost all are, because almost all are HDPE or PP. Contamination and ownership are the things that stop a load.
Reuse sound ones, weld cracked ones, and send the rest for regrind. The old pallets guide goes through it.
Processors that grind them, moulders that use the regrind, and pallet makers with take-back programmes. We route loads to them.
There is no honest number without seeing the load. The scrap value guide lists what moves it.
Not without the owner. They may belong to the pool. Read the pool-marked guide.
Neither. They are kept apart. HDPE is more common. PP is stiffer.
Not by default. FDA does not approve pallet models. Ask for documentation.
No. We do not run a public yard.
We list all 50. Alaska and Hawaii are looked at load by load.
No. This site is for plastic pallets.
The count, the size, the resin if you know it, condition, colours, marks, ZIP and photos.
We state none. Send what you have.
Use the form on the contact page or email the address shown on every page.
Pallets are mostly HDPE or PP, and the two do not melt or behave alike. A mixed bale is a weaker feedstock than two clean ones, so the pile is split before it is ground.
Black regrind can hide a mix of colours. Clean single colours are easier to place and say more about the source. A load of every colour is still regrind, but a different grade.
Small labels usually come out in sorting. Heavy residue, foam or metal bands are contamination and are listed on the form so the load is described honestly.
Burnt or fire-damaged pallets are named on the form. Whether they can be ground depends on what the heat did to the resin and what is stuck to them.
Choose not sure. A moulded mark on the underside, or the maker and model, usually settles it, and a photograph of that is enough.
We state no price. What a load is worth, or costs to move, depends on resin, condition, quantity and distance, and cannot be said before the pallets are seen.
You can describe it. We state no minimum, but a single pallet has little to route and the reuse and repair options matter more.
Scrap is broken. Retired pallets may be perfectly sound but no longer wanted, for example after a footprint or packaging change. Retired stock is sold or reused before it is ground.
Ask for the percentage, whether it is post-industrial or post-consumer, and the paperwork. A number without a source is a slogan.
Yes. The USDA lists plastic pallets among products not subject to its wood packaging regulation, so no heat-treatment mark is needed.
Only if the model has a racking rating. Nestable and lighter export pallets are generally not rated for racking.
Freezing can make some materials brittle. For freezer use the sources suggest starting with unblended HDPE.
Sometimes. Plastic is hard to glue, so joints are usually welded, and repair is generally harder than with wood.
Jobs and establishments come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. ZIP tables come from the Census Bureau. Cold storage space comes from USDA. Each page lists them.