Recycling 42 x 42 plastic pallets: who retires them and how a load is sorted

What a 42 x 42 in pallet is

The second most produced pallet size in the US across all materials, per Wikipedia. One plastic supplier lists a 42 x 42 nestable as a best seller. Plastic availability beyond that is not sourced here.

Who retires it

Paint and coatings, beverage and paper-goods shippers who use square pallets, and companies that moved to 48 x 40. Retired lots are usually single-customer.

How the sort goes

Square and often nestable. Count the stacks first. Nestables pack tight, so the pallet count per trailer is high.

What a 42 x 42 in load needs to describe

Say whether they nest, and the stack height. Then the count, the resin, the colour, any marks and the ZIP.

Size matters for the trailer. Deck area here is 12.3 sq ft, and 43 x 43 is next closest at 12.8 sq ft, so check you have not got the two mixed together.

Reading the measurements

The deck is 42 inches by 42 inches, which is 1067 by 1067 millimetres, 1,764 square inches or 1.138 square metres. The diagonal is 59.4 inches. In shape it is square, with a long side 1.00 times the short one.

If a pallet in the pile measures within an inch of 42 by 42 but not exactly, it may be a metric cousin. The table of every footprint shows which ones are close.

Edges and corners of the 42 x 42 deck

A 42 x 42 in deck has 168 inches of edge, and forks, beams and straps all land on it. When the corners are intact on a deck of 1,764 square inches the pallet may still sell. When they are broken the pallet is feedstock, and the photograph that shows it is the one of the damaged corner.

Describing a 42 x 42 lot

When you ask about 42 x 42 in pallets, give the count, the resin if known, the colour and the condition of the decks and runners. Say how the pallets are stored, loose or banded, because that decides how a truck is loaded. A photograph of the underside of one pallet shows the maker marks and any steel.

Where 42 x 42 piles turn up

Paint and coatings, beverage and paper goods. The size is among the most produced in the US across all materials, and one plastic supplier lists a nestable version as a best seller. A retired lot usually comes from one customer.

Nesting and stack height

Say whether the pallets nest and how tall the stacks are. A nestable stack of this size is a lot of pallets in a small space, and the count by stack is the quickest way to get a number.