Bulletin 043 · guides

Can plastic pallets be recycled?

Last reviewed Nov 12, 20268 stages

The short answer

Yes, mostly. Almost every plastic pallet is HDPE or PP, both of which can be sorted, ground into regrind and moulded again.

What can stop a pallet: contamination, mixed resins that cannot be told apart, and an owner’s mark.

Got a load like this?

Five questions and a photo. We say what we think happens next once the pallets have been seen.

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

Why the answer is yes

HDPE is resin code 2, the most common pallet resin. PP is the stiffer second. Both are thermoplastics, so they can be melted and formed again. Greystone Logistics already buys damaged plastic pallets as feedstock. Cabka’s Eco CP3 is made from 100 percent recycled polyethylene.

Why the answer is not always yes

A pallet with another company’s mark may not be yours to recycle. A pallet burnt through is cut around. A pallet that carried oil or chemicals may not be accepted. A resin you cannot identify has to be read first.

What recycling actually means here

Collected, sorted, cleaned, ground into regrind, then melted and moulded. Racklify describes the same sequence. It is not export of the problem, and it is not burning.

What state the pallets need to be in

Cracked is fine. Crushed is fine. Burnt needs cutting. Wet or dirty needs a note. Sound pallets may be worth more as pallets, so we look at that first.

How much is actually recycled

The Association of Plastic Recyclers reports 5.1 billion pounds of plastic recovered in the US in 2024, 94 percent of it processed in North America. That is plastic across the board, not pallets. EPA’s durable goods data gives no pallet figure either.

What to do next

Describe the load. Count, size, resin, condition, colour, marks, ZIP. Send a photo. We say what we think happens next.

Recycling versus reuse

A pallet that goes back into service has not been recycled; it has been reused. Recycling means the material is processed into something new. The two are different steps and both are better than landfill.

A first test

Is it a single resin? Is it free of metal and foam? Is it yours to send? Three yeses and the pallet is a candidate.

Can this pallet be recycled

Pallet	Recyclable	Catch
Cracked HDPE	Yes	None
Crushed PP	Yes	Keep apart from HDPE
Burnt through	Partly	Burnt section cut out
Chemical residue	Maybe	Say what it carried
Pool-marked	Not yours	Ownership first
Wood pallet	Not here	Plastic only

What the sources say

iccsafe.orgUL 2335 has an idle pallet test and a commodity storage test.
palletenterprise.comCalifornia AB 1760 (2022) lets recyclers take possession of stray proprietary pallets if the owner cannot be identified or fails to retrieve them in time, with a 35-day period before they can be declared abandoned.
resource-recycling.comIn April 2017, HDPE HMW regrind from drums and IBCs was 24 to 27 cents per pound picked up in the US South (historical, not current).
iccsafe.orgA 2010 insurer figure cited by ICC puts fire spread to a pallet above at about 18 minutes for plastic versus nearly 50 for wood.
blog.containerexchanger.comThe 800 x 1200 mm Euro footprint is the second most popular plastic pallet size worldwide.
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.
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.
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.
palletenterprise.comIn 2011 a Quebec court ruled that CHEP's identified blue pallets belong to CHEP and cannot be sold.
iccsafe.orgFM 4996 passes a pallet if fire is controlled at 5.9 mm/min (0.15 GPM/ft2) within a 10-minute test of eight 1.2 m stacks.
palletenterprise.comCHEP USA sued two California recyclers over CHEP-marked pallets they would not return; a Los Angeles court granted CHEP's motion to retrieve pallets in one case (article dated February 1, 2024).
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.
nelsoncompany.comStatic capacity is the highest of the three ratings; racking is often the lowest; dynamic is always lower than static.
rehrigpacific.comRehrig Pacific's rackable pallet has a two-piece snap-lock design for quick repair and options for FDA-approved colours, RFID and up to 15 percent black recycled content.

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.
Regrind: Plastic ground from used or scrap parts into flakes for moulding again.
Contamination: Anything in a load that is not the target resin: labels, metal, dirt, wood, food residue or another plastic.
Resin code: The number inside the triangle on a plastic part. HDPE is 2, PP is 5.
Resin identification code: Number on a plastic part for the resin, which does not itself say whether it is recyclable.
Ownership check: Our first step with any pallet that carries a name, logo, tag or colour that suggests another owner.
Reuse cycle: One trip out with a load and back again. Some pallets are rated for a number of them.
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.

Questions people ask

Can broken plastic pallets be recycled?

Yes.

Are plastic pallets recyclable in curbside bins?

No. They are too large and are a commercial stream.

Is the code on a pallet enough to know?

It tells you the resin. It does not tell you whether the pallet will be accepted.

Do recyclers pay for them?

We state no prices.

What kind of plastic are most pallets?

HDPE or PP. Both are widely recycled when sorted and clean.

Sources, reviewed Nov 12, 2026: Wikipedia, high-density polyethylene; Wikipedia, resin identification code; Resource Recycling, Greystone Logistics; Material District, Eco CP3 pallet; Racklify encyclopedia, recycled plastic pallets; Association of Plastic Recyclers; EPA, durable goods data.