Why Used Pallets Should be a Part of Your Shipping Strategy

If you own a commercial shipping company, you know that wood pallets are essential to your business. They carry heavy loads while offering stability during shipping, and provide workers effortless lifting capabilities with forklifts for loading and unloading.

Wood pallets have numerous multifaceted benefits, one of which is their ability to be used over and over again. If they become broken or damaged, they can be repaired with minimal resources for continued use.

Here are some of the ways that wood pallets can be fixed:

  • Replace or repair broken boards
  • Replace missing boards
  • Replace missing nails or staples
  • Repair warped or twisted wood 
  • Tighten loose materials
  • Ensure all materials are flush 

When repaired properly, used wood pallets offer the same level of performance as new wood pallets with some added benefits.

Reasons You Should Use Repaired Wood Pallets

These three primary reasons are why we recommend that you use repaired wood pallets as part of your shipping strategy.

1. Good for the Environment

Using repaired wood pallets demonstrates your company’s commitment to sustainable practices. The Pallet Foundation reminds us that “wood is the only 100% renewable, recyclable, and reusable product available.” 

By using repaired pallets, you are contributing to the reusability of the wood. This helps the environment in various ways, including the following:

  • Saves Trees

Instead of cutting down trees to build new wood pallets, we use pre-harvested wood. This helps ensure the continued growth of new and existing forests.

  • Reduces Carbon Footprint

Reusing and repairing wood pallets saves energy. This also reduces the emission of harmful CO2 gasses. 

When new wood pallets are manufactured, energy is expended in the harvesting of the trees. It is also used in the process of manufacturing wood into usable pallets. By recycling wood pallets, you reduce the energy that would have been used to create a new wood pallet. 

  • Decreases Space in Landfills

Lastly, repairing wood pallets keeps landfills free of recyclable material. 

Even if a wood pallet cannot be repaired, it can often be broken apart and built into a remanufactured pallet with parts from other used pallets and new lumber. If remanufacturing is not possible, the wood can further be recycled into mulch, fuel pellets, wood chips, firewood,  particle board, and other wood byproducts.

2. Cost-effective

If protecting the environment is not enough of a reason to use repaired pallets, saving money is the kicker. 

If you are buying new wood pallets each time you need to ship, the cost quickly adds up. This is especially true as the cost of wood rises.

Buying repaired wood pallets can cost 25 to 50 percent less than new pallets depending on numerous factors. It can even cost less to have your currently used pallets repaired for reuse.

Your current wood pallet manufacturer might even have a buy-back option. This allows them to purchase your used pallets to repair and then resell. They may offer a discount or credit towards the purchase of additional pallets. This is a thrifty way of saving money while sustaining the environment at the same time.

In addition to the possible cost savings of buying used versus new pallets, you can also save money on shipping used pallets. Since the wood is older, it has dried out. With less moisture in the wood, it weighs less to ship. Over time, the savings are noticeable.

3. Increases Safety

The last benefit is that it increases the safety of the workers and the merchandise. As wood pallets become damaged, their stability decreases and becomes less reliable over time. These issues are easily avoided with basic inspection and recycling methods of older, damaged pallets.

Damaged wood pallets should be professionally repaired to meet specific standards to ensure the safety of the individual, the pallet, and the cargo. If you are purchasing repaired pallets from a manufacturer, different grades of pallets are available for different purposes. Each grade must meet certain standards before being sold.  

If you are looking to purchase repaired or remanufactured wood pallets, Challenger Pallet is the leading wood pallet manufacturer in the Northwest. We are dedicated to using sustainable practices to reduce waste and reuse as much wood as possible. Contact us today to learn more about how we can meet your commercial shipping needs.