Bulletin 020 · regrind

HDPE plastic recycling, starting from the pallet

Last reviewed Nov 12, 20267 stages

The short answer

HDPE plastic recycling starts with sorting by resin and cleanliness. A plastic pallet is a good place to begin, because it is one polymer, heavy and mostly clean.

This page follows an HDPE pallet through the recycling chain and says where other HDPE streams differ.

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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 mesh screen sets the flake size. What passes goes on; the oversize goes back to the grinder.

Why HDPE

It is the most common pallet resin, resin code 2, tough and moisture resistant. The Association of Plastic Recyclers describes its members as reclaimers working across plastics, and HDPE is one of the best known.

How pallet HDPE differs

Bottles, drums and pallets are all HDPE, but a bottle is thin and often food contact, a drum is thick and often chemical, and a pallet is thick and mostly neutral. Pallet HDPE grinds heavy and leaves no label glue.

The pallet route

Sort for marks. Sort by colour. Remove metal. Shred. Grind. Pack the flake. Each step is smaller than the last. That is the whole chain.

Where the flake goes

To a moulder for new pallets or other parts. A closed loop means pallets go to known sites and return, which is the easiest place for recycled pallets to land again.

HDPE across products

HDPE is used in bottles, crates, drums, pipes and pallets. Pallet HDPE is thicker than bottle HDPE and is usually injection moulded, which makes the regrind different from bottle flake.

Why pallets are a good stream

A pallet is a large single piece of a single resin. When it is retired, it comes in useful numbers from one site.

What you can do next

Count, photograph and describe the load. If it is sound, sell it. If it is not, it goes to regrind.

Three HDPE streams

Stream	Thickness	Typical issue
Bottles	Thin	Food contact, labels
Drums	Thick	Chemical residue
Pallets	Thick	Marks, mixed colours

What the sources say

nelsoncompany.comHDPE is the most common resin in plastic pallets; PP is more rigid and the page recommends it for unsupported racking.
en.wikipedia.orgHDPE has resin identification code 2, a density of 930 to 970 kg/m3, melts at 131.8 C and is hard to glue, so joints are usually welded.
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.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.orgThe 48 x 40 in GMA pallet makes up about 30 percent of new US wood pallets.
nelsoncompany.comA used Nelson 48 x 40 x 6.3 in HDPE one-piece pallet weighs 49 lb with 30,000 lb static, 5,000 lb dynamic and 2,200 lb racking ratings.
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.
en.wikipedia.orgPlastic pallets can deform (creep) under heavy long-term loads and are hard to repair.
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).
rehrigpacific.comRehrig Pacific says its reusable products are designed to be recyclable at end of life and run a buyback program.
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.
nelsoncompany.com48 x 48 plastic pallets hold four 55-gallon drums without overhang; 48 x 45 matches North American auto parts bulk containers.
nelsoncompany.comThat Nelson model is under 5 in tall, which the page says suits air freight, and works with automation and most roller conveyors.
iccsafe.orgThe International Fire Code permits pallets listed and labeled under FM 4996 or UL 2335 to be treated as wood pallets for sprinkler design.

Terms on this page

HDPE: High-density polyethylene, resin code 2. The most common resin in plastic pallets; tough and moisture resistant.
Resin code: The number inside the triangle on a plastic part. HDPE is 2, PP is 5.
Resin identification code: Number on a plastic part for the resin, which does not itself say whether it is recyclable.
Food contact: A material that touches food directly. Recycled content in food-contact use is held to rules a pallet deck usually is not.
Ownership check: Our first step with any pallet that carries a name, logo, tag or colour that suggests another owner.
Shredder: A slow, heavy machine that tears whole pallets into large pieces before they reach the granulator.
Flake: The small, irregular pieces a granulator makes. Flake is regrind before it is sold or melted.
Moulder: A manufacturer that melts regrind or pellets and forms them into parts, such as pallets.
Closed loop: Pallets that travel between known sites and come back, so they are never lost to a downstream user.
Injection moulding: Pallet made by forcing molten resin into a mould at high pressure.
Regrind: Plastic ground from used or scrap parts into flakes for moulding again.
Contamination: Anything in a load that is not the target resin: labels, metal, dirt, wood, food residue or another plastic.

Questions people ask

Is all HDPE recycled the same way?

The steps are the same. The sorting and the end use differ.

Do you take drums or bottles?

No. We handle plastic pallets.

What does HDPE code 2 mean?

It is the resin identification code for HDPE. It shows the resin, not that the item can be recycled.

Can all HDPE be recycled?

Most can, subject to contamination and mixtures. Pallets are easier than many items.

Is HDPE pallet scrap used for new pallets?

It can be. Some makers use recycled HDPE in new pallets.

Sources, reviewed Nov 12, 2026: Association of Plastic Recyclers; EPA, plastics material-specific data; Wikipedia, resin identification code.