How Businesses Should Recycle Old Pallets For Sustainability

How Businesses Should Recycle Old Pallets For Sustainability

Wooden pallets are often the basis for ensuring a safe and seamless delivery of fragile consumer goods. Glass and ceramics are especially hard to transport as they’re prone to damage, but pallets are able to adequately prevent any mishaps. In fact, many pallets are designed to fit specific consumer goods, and that offers an additional layer of protection. Most organizations employing the use of pallets have reported virtually no losses thanks to the additional protection they afford.

There are instances where customers are stuck with pallets that were originally used to deliver bulk orders. It may seem rather wasteful to simply dispose of pallets, which is why there are a large number of ways to creatively recycle them. The information below will help consumers make proper use of the pallets they have and to dispose of them in a sustainable way.

Recycling Centers

Recycling centers in your region are probably the easiest and most reliable way to dispose of used wood pallets. Though these centers often have a large array of items they don’t accept, fortunately, pallets aren’t one of them! By recycling your pallet, you can ensure that they’re remade into something new and useful once again.

Usually, you can do a quick online search for local recycling centers. It’s also possible that you may find further helpful information on your local city’s website. 

Offer Pallets For Free

Perhaps the most unique way to get rid of unwanted pallets is to offer them for free locally. Many DIY crafters love to upcycle them into unique new projects, which is a surefire way to ensure you don’t have to deal with them! Simply advertise that you have them for free online on a local Facebook group, Craigslist or just add a sign at the end of your driveway.

Sell Online

If you would like some amount of compensation for your efforts, that’s also a possibility. You can choose to sell your pallets online on local groups by doing a cash exchange. It’s a great way to make some extra money without really doing much work.

Upcycle The Pallet

Upcycling is a fun and unique way to give these pallets a new lease on life. You can turn them into art, furniture or useful products to have around the house. Here are three really neat ideas for your consideration:

-Create a standing garden by standing up the pallets vertically. This allows you to display your houseplants in a neatly organized manner while showing off their natural beauty. This is ideal for displaying outside as wooden pallets are hardy and can withstand inclement weather.

-You can also turn old pallets into fantastic upcycled coffee tables, though this will require a bit more skill than a standing garden. The Internet offers a wealth of information on how to achieve the perfect look for your coffee table with limited effort on your part. For businesses like GES with a green message that import on pallets ensuring sustainability is important. According to this electric bike retailer, they not only recycle pallets but also plant a tree to ensure they stay on the green message.

-Similar to standing gardens, a garden planter is also made possible by using old wooden pallets. These are fantastic structures that help add a new dimension to your outdoor space while requiring very little DIY skills necessary to create. If you’re not sure what this looks like, check out a few Youtube videos online because they can help you with tips and tricks to make this happen.

For some, this may seem like a great deal of work for old pallets, and that’s in some ways true. If you prefer a sustainable solution, recycling is always the safest bet. However, if you’re short on time and don’t wish to invest too much effort into disposing of your old pallets, you can simply take then to a local dump. Fortunately, most dumps will accept pallets  although some may charge a small fee for dumping. You can also choose to break the pallets up into smaller manageable pieces that you can throw away into your normal trash receptacles on trash pickup day. Lastly, if none of these ideas appeal to you, as a last resort, you can also choose to sell back your pallets to a local company as many of them are looking to purchase used pallets.