Bulletin 006 · recycling
Damaged plastic pallets are recycled as feedstock. Cracked, crushed and burnt pallets are sorted by resin and colour, ground into regrind, and the regrind goes back to a mould.
What we need to see is the damage, the resin, and any marks that say who owns the pallet.
Cracked decks, burnt runners, crushed corners. Say what you have and add a photo by email.
We read every request ourselves. We will come back with what we think happens to the load, and what we still need to see.
Cracked deck boards, split runners, missing blocks and crushed corners are all fine. Say which. A pallet cracked at one corner might be welded and used again, so the first look asks whether the pallet is worth more as a pallet.
Burnt or melted pallets are a different case. They are cut around and the burnt part is set aside.
Look for the moulded-in resin code on the deck or runner. 2 is HDPE. 5 is PP. Not every pallet carries one, and a code shows the resin, not whether the pallet can be recycled. Not sure is a fine answer. We read the part.
Look for another company’s name, a logo, a barcode plate or an RFID bump. A marked pallet is an ownership question before it is a recycling one. In December 2011 a Los Angeles County task force recovered over $250,000 of illegally obtained plastic pallets from a recycler, which is the reason to check.
Two photos beat a paragraph. One of the worst damage. One of the whole stack. We read the colour mix and the count from them, and we say what we think happens next.
Cracked decks, snapped runners, crushed corners, melted edges and burn marks each say something different about the pallet and its past. A cracked deck usually means overload. A melted edge usually means heat or friction.
A pallet with one broken corner may still have sound material elsewhere. A pallet with a split along the whole length is scrap. Photograph the break close up, with a tape or a hand for scale.
| What you see | Likely route | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Cracked deck, runners sound | Weld and reuse, or regrind | Repair first if the pallet is common |
| Split or missing runners | Regrind | Bearing parts rarely repair well |
| Crushed corners | Regrind | Flat stacks are easy to count |
| Burnt or melted | Regrind after cutting out the burn | Melted sections spoil regrind |
| Another company’s mark | Ownership check first | May not be yours to send |
Yes. Broken HDPE and PP pallets are normal feedstock. The questions are contamination, mixed colours and who owns them.
You do not need to scrub them. Remove loose waste, metal and labels if you can. Say if they were used with food, chemicals or anything messy.
Pull the wood out. This is a plastic pallet service.
A clean crack in a pallet worth keeping can be welded. The repair-or-recycle guide goes through how to decide.
Leave them in the stack and photograph them. Loose pieces are counted as part of the load.
Sources, reviewed Nov 12, 2026: Wikipedia, high-density polyethylene; Wikipedia, resin identification code; Environmental Protection, plastics theft task force.