Bulletin 022 · regrind

HDPE scrap buyers: what they check on a pallet load

Last reviewed Nov 12, 20267 stages

The short answer

HDPE scrap buyers check four things on a pallet load: resin, colour, contamination and form. Get those right and a buyer can usually say yes or no quickly.

They are the same four things we check first.

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

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

Resin

HDPE and nothing else. PP in an HDPE bale is a defect. The moulded code, the weight and the shape give it away. A buyer who cannot tell sends it back.

Colour

Black and natural are the simplest streams. Other colours are fine in their own bale. A rainbow load is a lower grade.

Contamination

Labels, metal, wood, paint, oil. A buyer reads contamination as risk. The APR’s Model Bale Specifications give industry guidance on bale quality and acceptance.

Form

Whole pallets, ground flake or bales. Whole pallets are what most sellers have. Ground flake is what many buyers want. The distance between them is the sorting and grinding job.

What buyers pay attention to

Whether the HDPE is natural or coloured, whether it has been washed, what the previous use was and whether any is food-contact. A buyer making black parts takes more mixed colour than one making white.

Pallet HDPE is not bottle HDPE

Different melt flow, different additives. A buyer after a particular grade needs to say so.

How a buyer starts

With a spec, an annual volume and a sample request. We pass these on only as the load and the buyer fit.

Four checks and what a buyer wants

Check	Wants	Red flag
Resin	One, labelled	Unknown mix
Colour	Consistent	Every colour
Contamination	None visible	Oil, paint, wood
Form	Matches their line	Whole pallets for a flake line

What the sources say

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.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.comFor products touching the pallet directly, stricter federal requirements may call for non-blended virgin HDPE; recycled pallets often meet general FDA needs.
nelsoncompany.comHDPE is the most common resin in plastic pallets; PP is more rigid and the page recommends it for unsupported racking.
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.comPallet capacities are issued by the manufacturer from calculation and lab or field tests, and assume an evenly distributed load.
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.
rehrigpacific.comRehrig Pacific's heavy-duty nestable can be made with post-consumer or post-industrial recycled material, up to 30 percent in black and up to 10 percent in colour, and is RFID compatible.
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.
en.wikipedia.orgResin identification codes do not indicate whether a product is recyclable; ASTM D7611 governs the coding.
en.wikipedia.orgMetal pallets are under 1 percent of the pallet market.
en.wikipedia.orgThe 48 x 40 in GMA pallet makes up about 30 percent of new US wood pallets.
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

HDPE: High-density polyethylene, resin code 2. The most common resin in plastic pallets; tough and moisture resistant.
Contamination: Anything in a load that is not the target resin: labels, metal, dirt, wood, food residue or another plastic.
PP: Polypropylene. More rigid than HDPE and better with heat and harsh chemicals; used where rack stiffness matters.
Bale: A compressed block of scrap, tied for shipping. Buyers grade bales by resin, colour and cleanliness.
Flake: The small, irregular pieces a granulator makes. Flake is regrind before it is sold or melted.
Granulator: A machine with rotating knives that cuts plastic down to a set size, then pushes it through a screen.
Food contact: A material that touches food directly. Recycled content in food-contact use is held to rules a pallet deck usually is not.
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.
Ownership check: Our first step with any pallet that carries a name, logo, tag or colour that suggests another owner.
Moulder: A manufacturer that melts regrind or pellets and forms them into parts, such as pallets.
Recycled-content pallet: A pallet moulded partly or wholly from post-industrial or post-consumer resin.

Questions people ask

What do HDPE scrap buyers pay?

No number can be given here. It depends on the load.

Can I sell directly to a buyer?

You can. We help when you want sorting and routing handled.

Do buyers want pool-marked pallets?

A buyer will ask whose they are first.

Who buys HDPE scrap?

Processors and moulders who make parts that tolerate recycled content. We name no company.

What size flake do buyers want?

It varies. The buyer states it.

Sources, reviewed Nov 12, 2026: Association of Plastic Recyclers; Wikipedia, high-density polyethylene.