Loads taken by ZIP, nationwideinfo@plasticpalletrecyclers.com
Plastic Pallet
RecyclersSend a load

Index · recycled pallets

Recycled plastic pallets: what is in them and how to ask

Last reviewed Nov 12, 20265 stages
The short answer

A recycled-content pallet is moulded partly or wholly from post-industrial or post-consumer resin. Ask for the content, the rating and the paperwork behind both.

Cabka and Renewi’s Eco CP3 is made from 100 percent recycled polyethylene, so the product exists.

RetiredGroundSortedRemoulded
A pallet is shredded and ground to flake, sorted by resin and colour, and moulded into a pallet again.
100%recycled polyethylene in Eco CP3, per its makers
25+reuse cycles rated for that pallet
95%+polymer purity of the recycled input

What the label should mean

Recycled content can be a trace or the whole pallet. A number without a source is a slogan. Ask for the percentage, whether it is post-industrial or post-consumer, and the paper that says so.

What to ask for

Size, style and rating. A 48 x 40 nestable, a rackable, a stackable. Static, dynamic and racking loads. Racking is the lowest of the three, and only pallets built for it carry one.

Food contact is a separate question

FDA does not approve pallet models. Stricter requirements may call for non-blended virgin HDPE for direct contact. A recycled pallet is not a food-contact pallet by default.

How a request works

Send the form. Say how many, what size, what style and what loads. We say what we can find, and we ask the maker for documentation. We state no price and no timing here.

Who asks for recycled pallets

Companies with sustainability goals, retailers who set standards for suppliers, and buyers who want a pallet made from material that would otherwise be scrap. The request is easier to fill when the rating and the paperwork are named.

Recycled-content pallets in the facts

PalletContentSource
Eco CP3100% recycled polyethyleneCabka and Renewi
Standard-duty nestableUp to 90% recycled, blackRehrig Pacific
Heavy-duty nestableUp to 30% black, 10% colourRehrig Pacific
Advanced composite export100% recycled polyolefinsNelson Company
Figures as published by each maker.

In this section

What the sources say

  • nelsoncompany.comThat used pallet is listed as pharma and food safe but not approved for direct food contact, in colours that vary.
  • 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.orgThe 48 x 40 in GMA pallet makes up about 30 percent of new US wood pallets.
  • 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.
  • 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.orgResin identification codes do not indicate whether a product is recyclable; ASTM D7611 governs the coding.
  • nelsoncompany.comAdvanced composite material pallets are 100 percent recycled polyolefins, cheaper with a shorter life, and suit export where the pallet is not returned.
  • en.wikipedia.orgMetal pallets are under 1 percent of the pallet market.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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).
  • 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.

Terms on this page

Recycled-content pallet
A pallet moulded partly or wholly from post-industrial or post-consumer resin.
Post-industrial
Scrap from manufacturing and business use, as opposed to material recovered from households.
Post-consumer
Material recovered after a product has been used, then sorted and reprocessed.
HDPE
High-density polyethylene, resin code 2. The most common resin in plastic pallets; tough and moisture resistant.
Nestable
Empty pallets stack inside one another, cutting empty storage space by up to 75 percent.
Rackable
Rated to sit on rack beams, with a stated racking load.
Stackable
Loaded pallets can sit on top of each other, up to the static rating.
Static load
Weight a pallet carries at rest, or the bottom pallet carries when stacked. The highest of the three ratings.
Dynamic load
Weight a pallet carries while moving on a forklift, pallet jack or conveyor.
Racking load
Weight a pallet carries bridging an open span in unsupported racking. Often the lowest rating.
Food contact
A material that touches food directly. Recycled content in food-contact use is held to rules a pallet deck usually is not.
Virgin resin
New, unblended resin that has not been through a product before.
Closed loop
Pallets that travel between known sites and come back, so they are never lost to a downstream user.

Questions people ask

Are recycled plastic pallets food safe?

Not by default. Ask for resin and colourant documentation and check the end use.

Are recycled pallets weaker?

Ratings are model specific. Read static, dynamic and racking ratings for the model.

Can I return pallets for recycling later?

Closed loop is where this works best. Ask the maker about take-back.

Are recycled pallets as strong as new ones?

It depends on the design and the blend. Look at the rating and the test, not the recycled-content claim.

Keep reading

Ask for recycled-content pallets

Tell us the size, the style and the rating you need. We ask for the documentation.

How full is the trailer?
What resin are the pallets?
Sound or broken?
More about the load (optional)
Do any pallets carry another company's name or an RFID tag?
What colours are in the load?
Photos of the stack and the trailer help. Email them to info@plasticpalletrecyclers.com after you send.
Load request

Request received

We read every request ourselves. We will come back with what we think happens to the load, and what we still need to see.

Nothing here is an offer or an acceptance. A load is accepted only after the pallets have been seen.

Sources, reviewed Nov 12, 2026: Material District, Eco CP3 pallet; Rehrig Pacific, 40 x 48 standard-duty nestable pallet; Nelson Company, what material is used for plastic pallets; Nelson Company, capacity ratings explained.

Cracked, retired or mixed?

Send a load