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Are plastic pallets recyclable?

Last reviewed Nov 12, 20267 stages

The short answer

Plastic pallets are recyclable because they are made of one thermoplastic, usually HDPE or PP. Whether a given pallet is accepted depends on resin, condition and ownership.

Recyclable in principle and accepted in practice are different questions.

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A pallet is shredded and ground to flake, sorted by resin and colour, and moulded into a pallet again.

Resin

HDPE and PP are the two. Both melt and re-form. A pallet made of something else, or of a composite you cannot identify, is harder.

Condition

Sound, cracked, crushed or burnt. Condition does not change whether the resin can be recycled. It changes the route.

Cleanliness

Dry, dust-level dirt is fine. Oil, chemicals and heavy food residue are not. Say what the pallet was used with.

Ownership

The one thing resin cannot answer. A pallet owned by a pool is the pool’s, however recyclable it is.

What recyclable means

It means the material can be collected, processed and made into new products, and that a route to do so exists. A pallet in a remote place with no route is recyclable in principle and not in practice.

Reading the mark

The triangle on a pallet carries a number that names the resin: 2 for HDPE, 5 for PP. Where the mark is missing, the maker and model usually settle it.

What stops a load

A mix of resins, heavy contamination, steel and an unclear owner. Each can be handled if it is named.

Recyclable in principle, accepted in practice

Factor	Principle	Practice
Resin	HDPE and PP both fine	Must be identified
Condition	Any	Burnt sections cut out
Dirt	Dry dirt fine	Chemicals not
Owner	Irrelevant	Decisive

What the sources say

en.wikipedia.orgHDPE has resin identification code 2, a density of 930 to 970 kg/m3, melts at 131.8 C and is hard to glue, so joints are usually welded.
en.wikipedia.orgResin identification codes do not indicate whether a product is recyclable; ASTM D7611 governs the coding.
iccsafe.orgThe International Fire Code permits pallets listed and labeled under FM 4996 or UL 2335 to be treated as wood pallets for sprinkler design.
en.wikipedia.orgPlastic pallets are made by injection molding, structural foam molding, thermoforming, compression molding, rotational molding and profile extrusion.
en.wikipedia.orgAbout 500 million pallets are made each year as of 2020, with about 2 billion in use in the US.
nelsoncompany.comPallet capacities are issued by the manufacturer from calculation and lab or field tests, and assume an evenly distributed load.
nelsoncompany.comA used Nelson 48 x 40 x 6.3 in HDPE one-piece pallet weighs 49 lb with 30,000 lb static, 5,000 lb dynamic and 2,200 lb racking ratings.
blog.containerexchanger.comNorth American plastic pallets in the common sizes are about 5 to 6 in tall.
rehrigpacific.comRehrig Pacific says its reusable products are designed to be recyclable at end of life and run a buyback program.
rehrigpacific.comRehrig Pacific offers the standard-duty nestable with recycled content of up to 90 percent in black, and describes it as 100 percent recyclable.
blog.containerexchanger.comThe 800 x 1200 mm Euro footprint is the second most popular plastic pallet size worldwide.
en.wikipedia.orgMetal pallets are under 1 percent of the pallet market.
phsinc.comPHS lists 48 x 40 stackable plastic pallets with dynamic ratings of 2,500 to 5,000 lb and static ratings of 3,000 to 30,000 lb.
rehrigpacific.comRehrig Pacific's heavy-duty nestable can be made with post-consumer or post-industrial recycled material, up to 30 percent in black and up to 10 percent in colour, and is RFID compatible.

Terms on this page

HDPE: High-density polyethylene, resin code 2. The most common resin in plastic pallets; tough and moisture resistant.
PP: Polypropylene. More rigid than HDPE and better with heat and harsh chemicals; used where rack stiffness matters.
Ownership check: Our first step with any pallet that carries a name, logo, tag or colour that suggests another owner.
Pooled pallet: A pallet owned by a rental pool and lent to users, who are expected to return it, not scrap it.
Pooling: Renting pallets from a company that owns, tracks and collects them instead of buying.
Resin identification code: Number on a plastic part for the resin, which does not itself say whether it is recyclable.
Contamination: Anything in a load that is not the target resin: labels, metal, dirt, wood, food residue or another plastic.