Bulletin 196 · styles
Stackable plastic pallets are recycled like any HDPE or PP pallet: sorted, ground into regrind and moulded again. Bottom pallet bears the stacked load, so static rating matters.
Five questions and a photo. We say what we think happens next once the pallets have been seen.
Bottom pallet bears the stacked load, so static rating matters.
Stackables carry loads one on top of another, so the bottom pallet bears the weight and static rating matters. PHS lists 48 x 40 models with dynamic ratings of 2,500 to 5,000 lb and static ratings of 3,000 to 30,000 lb, in HDPE, PE, PP and FM-approved blends.
Heavy-duty stackables hold value as pallets. A cracked runner ends that.
Most are four-way entry. Check the model plate for the maker.
In a stack, the bottom pallet carries the weight of the ones above. A stackable with a worn base or a cracked runner is a risk. Retire it before it fails.
The sources list models from a few thousand pounds static up to far higher. Heavy-duty ones are built for steel, drums and bulk bags, and they cost more to replace.
Heavy-duty stackables in good order have buyers. List the model, the rating and the condition before a pile is ground.
What is the static rating, and has the pallet carried that load for a long time? Long loading can bend a plastic pallet, an effect called creep. Look at the runners from the side for a dip.
Stackables are bought for weight, so they tend to leave in lots of one model when a plant changes what it stores. Count the lot by model, note any with bent or dipped runners and send the heavier ones to the sale list first.
The pallet at the bottom of a stack carries every pallet above it, and it carries them for as long as the stack stands. That is why a stackable fails first at the bottom: the runners bend slowly under steady load, then crack when the stack is moved. When you retire a stackable lot, pull the bottom pallets of each stack first, since they show the worst wear and tell you how much life the rest still have. Note the stack height you used, because it explains the wear to a buyer or a recycler reading your photographs.
A floor of stackables is easiest to count by stack: number of stacks, height of each, and how many are standing against how many are lying down. Lying pallets are often the damaged ones, so count them separately and say so in the request.
Keep the purchase record or datasheet for the model, because it states the static rating a buyer will ask about, and note the year the lot was bought.
| Spec | Example |
|---|---|
| 48x40 models listed | Dynamic 2,500 to 5,000 lb; static 3,000 to 30,000 lb |
| Materials listed | HDPE, PE, PP, FM-approved blends |
| Entry | 4-way on all but one listed model |
Yes. Stackables carry loads one on top of another, so the bottom pallet bears the weight and static rating matters.
Heavy-duty stackables hold value as pallets.
Most are four-way entry. Check the model plate for the maker.
The sources list HDPE, PE, PP and blends, some fire-rated.
Not as a rule. They are built to carry loads, not to nest.
Sources, reviewed Nov 12, 2026: phsinc.com.