Bulletin 027 · processing

Industrial plastic recycling near you

Last reviewed Nov 12, 20267 stages

The short answer

Industrial plastic recycling near you depends on your state and the nearest freight lane. We list every state and 60 metros so you can find the page nearest the pile.

We route to processors by ZIP, so give us the ZIP of the load.

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.

Start with your state

The state pages name the industries that fill yards there. Food plants in Iowa and Wisconsin are one load. Auto parts in Michigan and Indiana are another. Chemical plants in Texas and Louisiana are a third.

Find the cluster

Industrial recycling happens where scrap piles up. Warehousing in the Inland Empire, the Chicago ring, northern New Jersey and Dallas-Fort Worth is large enough to keep processors busy.

Check the corridor

Interstate lanes carry the loads. I-80, I-95, I-35 and I-10 each connect several clusters. A load near a lane is easier to route.

Send the ZIP

The form takes the ZIP of the pile and a count. That is enough to start a conversation.

Processing capacity is uneven

Processors and moulders are likelier to sit where plastics manufacturing already is. The industry pages show the states with the most plastics product manufacturing jobs, a rough guide to where moulders buy regrind.

Freight decides the match

A processor a day’s drive away is usually a better match than one across the country, unless the load is large or unusual. The corridor notes on the metro pages show the main lanes.

Naming the cluster

In your description, name the nearest metro we cover as well as your ZIP. It helps us place the load where other loads are already moving.

Top states for warehousing jobs, 2025

BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers.
State	Jobs	Page
California	236,923	California
Texas	175,579	Texas
Pennsylvania	123,481	Pennsylvania
Florida	105,401	Florida
Ohio	98,354	Ohio

What the sources say

nelsoncompany.comNelson Company defines dynamic capacity as the load a pallet carries in motion, always below static; static as the load at rest and the bottom pallet's limit in a stack; racking as the load across an open rack span, often the lowest and given only for pallets designed for it.
nelsoncompany.comThat Nelson model is under 5 in tall, which the page says suits air freight, and works with automation and most roller conveyors.
nelsoncompany.comStatic capacity is the highest of the three ratings; racking is often the lowest; dynamic is always lower than static.
nelsoncompany.comPallet capacities are issued by the manufacturer from calculation and lab or field tests, and assume an evenly distributed load.
rehrigpacific.comRehrig Pacific's 40 x 48 heavy-duty nestable pallet is 48.25 x 40.25 x 6.5 in, weighs 28.5 lb, is rated 10,000 lb static and 3,500 lb dynamic, has a 2.55 in nest increment and 1,200 units per 53 ft trailer; the page lists no racking rating.
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.
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.
blog.containerexchanger.comNorth American plastic pallets in the common sizes are about 5 to 6 in tall.
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.
blog.containerexchanger.comThe 800 x 1200 mm Euro footprint is the second most popular plastic pallet size worldwide.
en.wikipedia.orgPlastic pallets can deform (creep) under heavy long-term loads and are hard to repair.
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.
en.wikipedia.orgNFPA requires wood and plastic pallets to be stored outdoors or in a detached structure unless sprinklers protect them.
en.wikipedia.orgPlastic pallets are often described as lasting 100 trips or more, and can cost roughly 10 times as much as hardwood pallets.

Terms on this page

Moulder: A manufacturer that melts regrind or pellets and forms them into parts, such as pallets.
Regrind: Plastic ground from used or scrap parts into flakes for moulding again.
Granulator: A machine with rotating knives that cuts plastic down to a set size, then pushes it through a screen.

Questions people ask

Is industrial plastic recycling local?

Partly. Sorting is local to the pile. Grinding is often regional.

Do you cover all states?

Yes. Alaska and Hawaii are looked at load by load.

How do I find the nearest processor?

Send the ZIP. We route.

Do you list processors by state?

No. We name the kinds of company and place loads one at a time.

What if I am far from any metro?

Say so. A remote pile is described with its distance to the nearest town and the road access.

Sources, reviewed Nov 12, 2026: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.