How Pallet Recycling Emerged
The pallet recycling industry rose to prominence in the last half of the 20th Century, becoming a double digit growth industry in the latter decades. In the beginning, pallet recycling originally emerged in the form of in-house pallet repair programs, focused solely on the refurbishment of pallets. Later, pallet recycling companies became established, operations that would take unwanted stockpiles of pallets off the hands of pallet users, reselling them to other users. Initially this involved the sorting, refurbishment and resale of used pallets, but over time the scope of recycling expanded to include disassembly of pallets and the reuse of recovered pallet components for repair and the creation of hybrid pallets and remanufactured pallets from used parts. As the industry matured, pallet recycling businesses increasing expanded their scope to include wood grinding, in order to recover all wood fiber as well as pallet nails.
In-House Pallet Repair
In-house pallet repair programs used to be fairly common in industry from the 1950s through the 1970s and 1980s. Companies often had dedicated pallet repair areas or shops for repair of their pallets. The level of automation often depended upon the volume of pallets requiring repair. With the rise of the pallet recycling industry, however, pallet users increasingly found it was more economical for them to work with a pallet recycling company to repair pallets, or to sell broken pallets to them and purchase back good condition recycled pallets.
Emergence of Pallet Recycling Industry
The first record of pallet recycling is in the 1960s. In 1958, Auto Pallets-Boxes, Inc.’s predecessor company contracted to haul wooden pallets from Ford Motor Co., in Dearborn Michigan. The company incorporated in 1963, possibly operating the first wooden pallet recycling program in the Midwest U.S. Pallet recycling developed opportunistically in the latter 1960s – as a means to achieve greater value from pallets already in use. The development of the industry generated many positive outcomes for pallet users. With the increased usage of palletized shipping in industry, pallet users experienced growing frustration with the ongoing build-up of empty pallet stockpiles that accumulated after product was unloaded. These were pallets that no one seemed to want, with little option other than sending them to the landfill. The first recyclers often received payment from companies to take the pallets away, and then developed markets for them, convincing product manufacturers that recycled pallets could perform adequately, while costing considerably less than new pallets.
Increased Maturity of Pallet Recycling
While early pallet recyclers were often paid at both ends – to take them away and then to sell them to other pallet users, increased competition among pallet recyclers resulted in multiple companies bidding on the same used pallets, or pallet “cores” from large generators such as grocery distribution centers. While pallet recycling companies had initially used hand tools such as hammers, pry bars and sledges, with growing size and throughput they increasingly looked to powered nailing and cutting tools as well as mechanization for improved efficiencies. Powered pallet disassembly equipment came into use, including first rotating disc dismantlers, followed by band dismantling machines.
From the customer perspective, some industries were more receptive than others in adopting the use of recycled pallets, and initially, quality was inconsistent. It took years for more commonly accepted standards to emerge.
Modern Pallet Recycling
Pallet recycling companies presently utilize varying degrees of equipment, but almost all will have compressors, powered nail guns and saws, as well as dismantling equipment. Wood grinding systems are increasingly prevalent for the reduction of wood waste to wood fibre, where it can be utilized for mulch, bedding and a number of other fibre products.
Larger operations may take a more systematic approach to pallet sorting and repair, involving pallet dispensers or tippers, conveyors, lead board removers and various work stations for component removal and replacement. Three different approaches to pallet repair systems include the straight line system, the over and under system, and the “build on the fly” approach.
Today’s pallet recycling industry continues to emerge. In some respect it has been a victim of its own success, as with increased repair, there are fewer new pallets entering the GMA pallet pool to reinvigorate it. Additionally, increased growth of pallet rental pools has also acted to reduce the amount of new pallets entering the pool, but at the same time, has provided some new opportunities for some pallet companies to serve those rental companies.
