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Index · retired pallets

Retired plastic pallets: clearing a whole footprint at once

Last reviewed Nov 12, 20266 stages
The short answer

Retired plastic pallets are sound pallets taken out of service all at once, usually after a packaging or pallet-size change. They can be sold on, reused, or ground into regrind.

The first question is whether they are still sound.

RetiredGroundSortedRemoulded
A pallet is shredded and ground to flake, sorted by resin and colour, and moulded into a pallet again.

Say what was retired

A single footprint, one style, one resin is the clean case. Four thousand 48 x 40 nestables with no marks. Describe it like that.

Mixed lots are a different job and have their own page.

Sound or not

A sound pallet is worth more as a pallet than as flake. Check the deck for cracks and the runners for wear. A pallet that is clean, flat and whole can often be reused or sold in a lot.

Who owns them

A retired stock you bought is yours. A retired stock that was rented is not. Check for pool names and RFID tags before anything else.

Where they go

Sound pallets can be offered as used stock. Cracked or old ones are feedstock. A mixed lot is sorted by footprint and resin first.

Retired is not broken

A retired pallet is one nobody wants any more, not one that has failed. That makes it the most valuable kind of pile, because sound pallets can be sold, reused or repaired before they are ever ground.

Sell before you grind

Common sizes in good condition are the easiest to sell. List the count, the footprint, the maker and the condition. Mixed, discoloured or odd-sized stock goes to the grinder.

Retired stock pages

PageFor
Mixed lotsSeveral sizes or colours in one pile
TruckloadsSizing a trailer
Obsolete stockStock left after a packaging change
All footprintsOne page per pallet size

In this section

What the sources say

  • 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.orgThe 48 x 40 in GMA pallet makes up about 30 percent of new US wood pallets.
  • blog.containerexchanger.comThe 800 x 1200 mm Euro footprint is the second most popular plastic pallet size worldwide.
  • nelsoncompany.comAdvanced composite material pallets are 100 percent recycled polyolefins, cheaper with a shorter life, and suit export where the pallet is not returned.
  • aphis.usda.govUSDA APHIS lists plastic pallets among products not subject to APHIS regulation, as an alternative to wood packaging material.
  • palletenterprise.comIn 2011 a Quebec court ruled that CHEP's identified blue pallets belong to CHEP and cannot be sold.
  • en.wikipedia.orgResin identification codes do not indicate whether a product is recyclable; ASTM D7611 governs the coding.
  • 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.
  • 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).
  • aphis.usda.govWood packaging material entering the US must be treated and certified per ISPM 15.
  • en.wikipedia.orgPlastic pallets are often described as lasting 100 trips or more, and can cost roughly 10 times as much as hardwood pallets.
  • blog.containerexchanger.comNorth American plastic pallets in the common sizes are about 5 to 6 in tall.
  • en.wikipedia.orgMetal pallets are under 1 percent of the pallet market.
  • phsinc.comPHS lists 48 x 40 stackable plastic pallets with dynamic ratings of 2,500 to 5,000 lb and static ratings of 3,000 to 30,000 lb.

Terms on this page

Reuse cycle
One trip out with a load and back again. Some pallets are rated for a number of them.
Regrind
Plastic ground from used or scrap parts into flakes for moulding again.
Footprint
The length and width of a pallet’s deck, for example 48 x 40 inches.
Nestable
Empty pallets stack inside one another, cutting empty storage space by up to 75 percent.
Ownership check
Our first step with any pallet that carries a name, logo, tag or colour that suggests another owner.
Flake
The small, irregular pieces a granulator makes. Flake is regrind before it is sold or melted.
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.
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.
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.
Granulator
A machine with rotating knives that cuts plastic down to a set size, then pushes it through a screen.
Trailer fill
How much of a trailer a load takes: a quarter, half or full. It sizes the freight job.

Questions people ask

Can you take a whole retired footprint?

We route the load. Describe it in the form.

Will you pay for it?

We state no terms before the pallets are seen.

Do you buy sound pallets?

This site handles recycling. If yours are sound, say so and we say what we know.

What makes a pallet retired?

A change of footprint, a packaging redesign, a closed site, a merger or a decision to leave a pool. None of them is damage.

Keep reading

Send the retired stock

A whole footprint, a mixed lot or a surplus pile. Say the size, the style and whether it is sound.

How full is the trailer?
What resin are the pallets?
Sound or broken?
More about the load (optional)
Do any pallets carry another company's name or an RFID tag?
What colours are in the load?
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.

Sources, reviewed Nov 12, 2026: Nelson Company, common plastic pallet sizes; Wikipedia, pallet.

Cracked, retired or mixed?

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