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Plastic pallet pickup: prepare the load, then ask

Last reviewed Nov 12, 20267 stages
The short answer

A plastic pallet pickup starts with a prepared load: counted, stacked and described. The more the load is ready, the easier it is to route.

We do not state terms before the pallets are seen.

Ask about a pickup

Tell us where the pallets sit and what they look like. We say what the load needs.

How full is the trailer?
What resin are the pallets?
Sound or broken?
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.
The loadBrokenregrindSoundreuseMixedblendPoolowner
Four bins. A load goes to the one that fits first and moves if the pallets say otherwise.

Stack and strap

Flat stacks are easier to count and to load. Strap them if you can. Keep different resins and colours in different stacks if you already know them.

Clear access

A trailer needs a dock or a flat spot. Say if the pile is at a rear lot, a remote yard or an upper floor. Say the ZIP, not just the city.

Set apart anything marked

Marked and RFID-tagged pallets go in their own stack. They get checked first. This keeps a clean load clean.

Photograph, then ask

Photos of the stack, the access and the worst damage. Send them with the form. We say what the load needs, and whether it can move as it is.

Dock or yard

Say where the pallets are and how a truck reaches them: dock height, a yard, a locked gate. A pile on a dock is easier to load than a pile in a corner of a yard under tarpaulin, and the description should say which.

Equipment on site

Mention a forklift, a pallet jack or neither. A trailer that has to be hand-loaded is a different job from one loaded by a lift truck.

Who needs to be there

Name a contact who can open the gate and sign off the load. Pickup depends on someone being there with the right authority.

Load prep checklist

TaskWhySkip if
Count the palletsSizes the trailerNever skip
Stack flatEasier to load and countPallets are loose in a bin
Separate marked palletsKeeps a clean load cleanNone are marked
Remove loose wasteLess contaminationNothing to remove
PhotographLets us read the loadNever skip

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 lists about 60 pallets per stack and 1,800 per truck.
  • phsinc.comPHS lists its EXP 100 nestable (48 x 40 x 5.2 in) at 78 pallets per stack and 2,340 per truckload, and its EXP 116 (48 x 40 x 5.75 in, 15,000 lb static) at 40 per stack and 1,260 per truckload: a higher static rating comes with fewer pallets per stack.
  • en.wikipedia.orgPlastic pallets are often described as lasting 100 trips or more, and can cost roughly 10 times as much as hardwood pallets.
  • 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.
  • nelsoncompany.comFor products touching the pallet directly, stricter federal requirements may call for non-blended virgin HDPE; recycled pallets often meet general FDA needs.
  • nelsoncompany.comPallet capacities are issued by the manufacturer from calculation and lab or field tests, and assume an evenly distributed load.
  • 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.
  • 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.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.comNorth American plastic pallets in the common sizes are about 5 to 6 in tall.
  • blog.containerexchanger.comThe 800 x 1200 mm Euro footprint is the second most popular plastic pallet size worldwide.
  • en.wikipedia.orgMetal pallets are under 1 percent of the pallet market.

Terms on this page

Trailer fill
How much of a trailer a load takes: a quarter, half or full. It sizes the freight job.
RFID tag
A small radio tag moulded or fixed into a pallet so that its owner can track it.
RFID
Radio tag moulded or fixed into a pallet so it can be tracked.
Ownership check
Our first step with any pallet that carries a name, logo, tag or colour that suggests another owner.
Contamination
Anything in a load that is not the target resin: labels, metal, dirt, wood, food residue or another plastic.

Questions people ask

Do you send a truck?

We route the load. Whether that is our freight, yours or a carrier depends on the load and cannot be stated before it is seen.

Can I drop pallets at your yard?

There is no public yard.

What if the pallets are outside in the weather?

Say so. Freezing can make some pallet materials brittle, and we like to know.

Do you send a truck?

We route loads and say what we think happens next. We state no fleet and no timing here.

Can I drop pallets off?

We do not run a public yard. Describe the load and we say where it can go.

Keep reading

Sources, reviewed Nov 12, 2026: Nelson Company, common plastic pallet sizes; Nelson Company, capacity ratings explained.

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