Bulletin 011 · recycling

How to dispose of plastic pallets: five routes, ranked

Last reviewed Nov 12, 20267 stages

The short answer

There are five ways to dispose of plastic pallets, ranked: reuse, weld and reuse, regrind, ownership return, landfill. Take the first one that fits.

Landfill is the last resort and rarely needed.

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

Four bins. A load goes to the one that fits first and moves if the pallets say otherwise.

One: reuse them

If the deck is flat and the runners are whole, the pallet is still a pallet. Use it, sell it or donate it. This is the highest-value route and it keeps the pallet in service.

Two: weld and reuse

A cracked part can be repaired. This only suits common footprints with a clear fault. A welded pallet is not rated for racking or food contact unless the maker says so.

Three: grind to regrind

Cracked, crushed and burnt pallets are feedstock. HDPE and PP are sorted apart, ground, and moulded again. This is the main recycling route, and the one this site exists for.

Four: hand marked pallets back

A pallet with a pool name or RFID tag belongs to the pool. Call the pool. A recycler who takes marked pallets without asking is taking a risk, and so are you.

Five: landfill

Only for pallets that cannot be reused, repaired or ground. That is rare. Ask first. Most contaminated loads can still be sorted.

Why order matters

The five options are ranked from best to worst use of the pallet. Each step down gives up more of what went into making it. Start at reuse and stop at the first one that works.

Paperwork to keep

Note the count, the date, who took the pallets and where they went. If a pallet carried hazardous material, record that too. A short note protects you if anyone asks later.

Five routes, one table

Rank	Route	Needs
1	Reuse	Flat deck, whole runners
2	Weld and reuse	Repairable crack, common size
3	Regrind	Known or readable resin
4	Return to owner	Pool name or RFID visible
5	Landfill	Nothing else works

What the sources say

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).
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.
palletenterprise.comIn 2011 a Quebec court ruled that CHEP's identified blue pallets belong to CHEP and cannot be sold.
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.comThe 800 x 1200 mm Euro footprint is the second most popular plastic pallet size worldwide.
nelsoncompany.com48 x 48 plastic pallets hold four 55-gallon drums without overhang; 48 x 45 matches North American auto parts bulk containers.
nelsoncompany.comA 48 x 40 pallet fits 30 stacks in a turned pattern on a 53 ft dry van, per one supplier.
nelsoncompany.comHDPE is the most common resin in plastic pallets; PP is more rigid and the page recommends it for unsupported racking.
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.
nelsoncompany.comStatic capacity is the highest of the three ratings; racking is often the lowest; dynamic is always lower than static.
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.
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).

Terms on this page

Reuse cycle: One trip out with a load and back again. Some pallets are rated for a number of them.
Welding repair: Plastic is hard to glue, so cracked parts are normally welded.
Regrind: Plastic ground from used or scrap parts into flakes for moulding again.
Ownership check: Our first step with any pallet that carries a name, logo, tag or colour that suggests another owner.
Deck: The flat surface that carries the load. A pallet may have a top deck, a bottom deck or both.
Runners: Bottom rails that touch the floor or rack and carry the load.
Footprint: The length and width of a pallet’s deck, for example 48 x 40 inches.
Rackable: Rated to sit on rack beams, with a stated racking load.
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.
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.
Pooled pallet: A pallet owned by a rental pool and lent to users, who are expected to return it, not scrap it.
Pooling: Renting pallets from a company that owns, tracks and collects them instead of buying.

Questions people ask

How do I dispose of a single pallet?

A single one can be reused, welded or taken to a local plastics recycler. This site is built for loads.

Can I burn plastic pallets?

No. Burning plastic gives off harmful fumes. Do not.

Who handles CHEP pallets?

CHEP does. The pool-marked guide explains what to do.

Which option do most people end up using?

We state no distribution. Sound pallets are reused or sold, broken ones are ground, and marked ones go back to their owner.

Is landfill ever right?

Only for a pallet that cannot go anywhere else, such as one heavily contaminated with something a recycler will not accept.

Sources, reviewed Nov 12, 2026: EPA, durable goods data; Wikipedia, pallet.