Bulletin 025 · processing

Plastic grinding services: sorted pallets in, regrind out

Last reviewed Nov 12, 20267 stages

The short answer

Plastic grinding services take sorted, shredded pallet pieces and turn them into regrind. The perforated screen inside the granulator sets the flake size.

Sorted pallets go in. Regrind comes out.

Got a load like this?

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

Send a load Find your area

A mesh screen sets the flake size. What passes goes on; the oversize goes back to the grinder.

The granulator

Rotating knives cut material against fixed bed knives. A screen below the chamber has holes of a set size. Material stays in the chamber until it is small enough to pass through.

Choosing a screen

A larger hole gives larger flake and a faster, rougher grind. A smaller hole gives finer flake and more fines. The moulder says what suits the line.

Colour in the hopper

A granulator that has just run black pallets leaves black flecks in the next colour. Loads are ground in colour order, light to dark. That is why colour sorting matters.

Clean flake out

Dust, fines and stray pieces are removed. The flake is bagged or moved on to melt-and-pellet.

Knives and wear

Granulator knives dull, and dull knives make dust and heat. Pallet plastic is abrasive when it carries dirt or glass-filled compounds. A clean load is gentler on the machine.

Dust and fines

Fines are the powdery bits a granulator makes. Too much fine material makes flake hard to melt evenly, so processors screen it out or run a larger screen.

Cleaning between colours

Between runs the hopper and the machine are cleaned so black does not stain white. Colour sorting before grinding reduces how often that is needed.

Grinding notes by input

Input	What to watch
HDPE, black	Easy to place, hides colour
HDPE, colour	Grind light to dark
PP	Never in the same run as HDPE
Burnt	Cut out before grinding

What the sources say

blog.containerexchanger.comThe 800 x 1200 mm Euro footprint is the second most popular plastic pallet size worldwide.
cabka.comCabka says plastic export pallets are exempt from ISPM-15 treatment, that there is no single export size, and that its nestable export designs include extra-lightweight and air-freight versions.
phsinc.comPHS lists its EXP 100 nestable (48 x 40 x 5.2 in) at 78 pallets per stack and 2,340 per truckload, and its EXP 116 (48 x 40 x 5.75 in, 15,000 lb static) at 40 per stack and 1,260 per truckload: a higher static rating comes with fewer pallets per stack.
nelsoncompany.comThat used pallet is listed as pharma and food safe but not approved for direct food contact, in colours that vary.
eponline.comIn December 2011 a Los Angeles County Sheriff task force recovered over $250,000 of illegally obtained plastic pallets, including iGPS pallets, from a plastic recycler.
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.
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.
en.wikipedia.orgPlastic pallets weigh about 3 to 15 lb when light and up to 300 lb when heavy; a typical GMA wood pallet weighs about 37 lb.
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).
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.
en.wikipedia.orgPlastic pallets are often described as lasting 100 trips or more, and can cost roughly 10 times as much as hardwood pallets.
resource-recycling.comGreystone Logistics processed about 60 million pounds of recycled plastic in the year ended May 31, 2024, using damaged plastic pallets from a buy-back program among its feedstock.
blog.containerexchanger.comNorth American plastic pallets in the common sizes are about 5 to 6 in tall.
en.wikipedia.orgMetal pallets are under 1 percent of the pallet market.

Terms on this page

Granulator: A machine with rotating knives that cuts plastic down to a set size, then pushes it through a screen.
Shredder: A slow, heavy machine that tears whole pallets into large pieces before they reach the granulator.
Regrind: Plastic ground from used or scrap parts into flakes for moulding again.
Screen: The perforated plate under a granulator’s knives. The size of its holes sets the size of the flake.
Flake: The small, irregular pieces a granulator makes. Flake is regrind before it is sold or melted.
Moulder: A manufacturer that melts regrind or pellets and forms them into parts, such as pallets.
Pellet: A small bead made by melting regrind and cutting it. Pellets feed into machines more evenly than flake.
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.

Questions people ask

How fine is the flake?

As fine as the screen holes. The moulder picks.

Do you offer grinding services?

We route sorted loads to grinders. Ask in the form.

Can you grind mixed colours?

Yes. The result is a mixed-colour regrind.

What size is the flake?

It depends on the screen. Processors choose the size to suit their buyer, and we state none here.

Can mixed resins be ground together?

They can be, but the result is mixed. Most buyers want one resin at a time.

Sources, reviewed Nov 12, 2026: The Cary Company, what is regrind; Racklify encyclopedia, recycled plastic pallets.