Bulletin 031 · recycled pallets

Eco plastic pallets: ask for the content documentation

Last reviewed Nov 12, 202611 stages

The short answer

Eco plastic pallets is a label, not a standard. Ask what makes it eco: recycled content, reuse count, recyclability, or all three.

A green name without a number is marketing. Ask for the documentation.

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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.

Content

How much is recycled, and is it post-industrial or post-consumer. Rehrig quotes up to 90 percent in black on one model. Cabka quotes 100 percent on another.

Reuse

A pallet that survives 25 or more reuse cycles saves more than one that does not. Eco CP3 is rated for at least 25. Plastic pallets are often described as lasting 100 trips or more.

End of life

Can it be recycled again. Rehrig describes its standard-duty nestable as 100 percent recyclable. A pallet that goes back to a mould closes the loop.

Documentation

Ask for it in writing: percentage, source, resin, colourant. If it cannot be supplied, treat the claim as unproven.

Eco on a label

The word is not regulated for pallets. It can mean recycled content, recyclability or a lighter weight for transport. Ask which of those the maker means.

Looking past the label

Reusable many times, repairable, recyclable at the end, made from material that would otherwise be scrap. Those are the properties that earn the word.

A checklist

Percentage of recycled content, type of recycled content, rating, number of reuse cycles, take-back and the paperwork.

Questions to put to a supplier of recycled-content pallets

What share of the material is recycled, and is that share measured or stated? Which resin is it? Is the content post-consumer or post-industrial? Is there a load rating on the plate? Can the maker say where the feedstock came from? A supplier who answers all five is giving you what you need to compare one pallet with another.

Eco pallets and the retired stream

A recycled-content pallet that has reached the end of its life goes back into the same stream that made it. That loop is the point of the whole category, and it is why a sound, sorted lot of retired pallets is worth something to a pallet maker.

Reading a recycled-content claim

A claim of recycled content can mean post-industrial scrap or post-consumer pallets, and the two are not the same thing. Ask which, and ask how the figure was measured.

Where a recycled-content pallet fits

Recycled-content pallets suit shippers who want a plastic pallet with a lower material footprint and who accept the colour and finish that regrind gives. Dark or mottled decks are normal and say nothing about strength.

Questions to put to an eco claim

Claim	Ask
Recycled	How much, which source
Recyclable	Which resin, who takes it back
Durable	How many reuse cycles, which rating
Green	Where is the paper

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.
nelsoncompany.comAdvanced composite material pallets are 100 percent recycled polyolefins, cheaper with a shorter life, and suit export where the pallet is not returned.
nelsoncompany.comA 48 x 40 pallet fits 30 stacks in a turned pattern on a 53 ft dry van, per one supplier.
en.wikipedia.orgThe 48 x 40 in GMA pallet makes up about 30 percent of new US wood pallets.
en.wikipedia.orgPlastic pallets are often described as lasting 100 trips or more, and can cost roughly 10 times as much as hardwood pallets.
rehrigpacific.comRehrig Pacific says its reusable products are designed to be recyclable at end of life and run a buyback program.
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.
nelsoncompany.com43 x 43 in pallets are designed for bulk bags; 45 x 45 in is the CP9 chemical standard.
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.
freightwaves.comiGPS announced FM approval in 2008 for its all-plastic RFID-tagged pooled pallet, which had UL 2335 certification from 2007.
nelsoncompany.com48 x 48 plastic pallets hold four 55-gallon drums without overhang; 48 x 45 matches North American auto parts bulk containers.
nelsoncompany.comOnly pallets designed for unsupported racking carry a racking rating.
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.
en.wikipedia.orgNFPA requires wood and plastic pallets to be stored outdoors or in a detached structure unless sprinklers protect them.

Terms on this page

Recycled-content pallet: A pallet moulded partly or wholly from post-industrial or post-consumer resin.
Reuse cycle: One trip out with a load and back again. Some pallets are rated for a number of them.
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.
Multi-trip pallet: A pallet designed to be returned and reused many times.
Nestable: Empty pallets stack inside one another, cutting empty storage space by up to 75 percent.
Footprint: The length and width of a pallet’s deck, for example 48 x 40 inches.
Regrind: Plastic ground from used or scrap parts into flakes for moulding again.
Deck: The flat surface that carries the load. A pallet may have a top deck, a bottom deck or both.
Food contact: A material that touches food directly. Recycled content in food-contact use is held to rules a pallet deck usually is not.

Questions people ask

Is an eco pallet food safe?

Not necessarily. See the food contact guide.

Are eco pallets more expensive?

We state no prices.

Do they carry a certification?

Ask the maker. We list none.

Is an eco pallet better than a wood pallet?

We state no comparison. The sources we cite compare specific products.

Do eco pallets cost more?

We state no price.

Sources, reviewed Nov 12, 2026: Material District, Eco CP3 pallet; Rehrig Pacific, 40 x 48 standard-duty nestable pallet; Wikipedia, pallet.