| So you want the truth? In my best "Jack" voice, | | | | the future and that our days in working with only |
| "Are you sure you can you handle the truth?" | | | | wooden pallets are numbered, and these type of |
| Good, I'm glad we got that off our chests, | | | | claims fueled those thoughts along. |
| because this is a topic, like so many, ultimately | | | | Wooden pallets are almost exclusively built from |
| fueled by money. I ask you to keep an open | | | | the unusable/byproduct of the lumber industry |
| mind, and let me start off being straight regarding | | | | that is geared towards housing, furniture, and |
| my point of view as one of the owners of a | | | | flooring though, and many of the trees are |
| pallet manufacturing company. Our company has, | | | | renewable (grow back over and over again to |
| for nearly 30 years now, dealt almost exclusively | | | | keep providing raw material) and others are |
| with wooden pallets. Only recently have we | | | | replanted over and over to keep the industry |
| worked on a very small scale with plastic pallets. | | | | "fed." Plastic pallets are at the end of a |
| My brother and I are accustomed to pondering | | | | manufacturing chain beginning at an oil well, |
| over plastic vs. wood pallets like most people | | | | through refineries, oil tankers, trucks, and finally |
| ponder over paper or plastic bags in line at your | | | | plastic processing plants - of which the top 47 |
| grocery store. Which one is better? Which one is | | | | ranked highest in carcinogenic emissions by the |
| "greener?" Which one is the future? After | | | | EPA, 35 are plastic production companies. |
| spending several hours of every week focused | | | | Typically, plastics are not associated with being |
| on coming up with the strategy of our company's | | | | sustainable or green. Paper or plastic folks? Which |
| path forward in an ever-challenging marketplace, | | | | do you choose? Gut check time. |
| the answers to the question of which one is | | | | The EPA has typically associated wooden pallets |
| better, plastic or wood pallets, crates, dunnage, | | | | as being a sustainable product. At the end of the |
| still deserve serious consideration to say the least. | | | | "life" of a wooden pallet it can easily be ground |
| You may be surprised about the conclusions that | | | | into mulch, wood flooring, stove pellets, or |
| have been reached regarding these materials used | | | | replacement parts for other pallets. Even the nails |
| in packaging for several decades now. Decide for | | | | are recuperated from the grinding process and |
| yourselves! We certainly have - hey, what did you | | | | sold for scrap metal. The fact is that wooden |
| expect, we're in the business of pallets. | | | | pallets are from a truly renewable source = trees! |
| When it comes to making a decision on which is | | | | We clearly have been reading about how finite |
| better for your organization - plastic vs. wood | | | | the supply of oil is everywhere in the world. |
| packaging - there are important categories that | | | | Another aspect of sustainability that we don't |
| invoke specific questions. The big four are always: | | | | often hear about is the fact that wooden pallets |
| 1) Fire Safety | | | | are repairable - and it's a profitable endeavor so |
| 2) Sustainability | | | | it's an industry that's commonly engaged in by |
| 3) Strength/Flexibility/Practicality | | | | companies looking to lowering their scrap/waste |
| 4) Cost/Price | | | | costs as well as pallet recyclers looking for cores |
| Let's take these on one shall we? | | | | to recycle and put back into the market. |
| 1. Fire Safety | | | | To end the subject of sustainability - again I |
| This has been in the news some lately as there | | | | always return to the plastic bag - what do we |
| has been some back and forth between | | | | find in our landfills folks? Plastics - they last, and |
| supporters on both sides of the issue, and of | | | | the resin used in plastic pallets does not |
| course the fire marshals are caught in the middle | | | | biodegrade. While plastic pallets can be recycled, |
| along with not just pallet companies but also all | | | | the reality is that it is a process that requires |
| the companies around the world that store large | | | | considerable energy to run extruders to produce |
| amounts of packaging in warehouses. One's first | | | | other products from recycling pallets and also |
| reaction is typically that wood is flammable afterall | | | | building the plastic pallets is considerable. Sadly, |
| we use it to start fires and stay warm in our | | | | most plastic pallets, like our plastic bags, water |
| homes, out camping, and even create pellets to | | | | bottles, etc. end up in our landfills. |
| use as fuel for wood-burning furnaces. | | | | 3. Strength/Flexibility/Practicality |
| Surprisingly, the Arson Bureau of the New York | | | | The next important bucket when considering |
| State Fire and Prevention and Control conducted | | | | plastic vs. wooden packaging is just how well they |
| a nonscientific test to compare the burn rates of | | | | do the job? Some quick facts to consider:a. Wood |
| plastic and wood pallets. Their findings indicated | | | | and Plastic both have excellent weight to strength |
| that "once ignited the plastic pallets burned both | | | | ratios - wood is typically 40-60 lbs and plastic is |
| quicker and hotter than wooden pallets. Burning, | | | | typically 30-60 lbs.b. Wood components are easy |
| dripping plastic from the plastic pallets pooled and | | | | to acquire and configure any which way you want |
| burned on the floor under the pallets contributing | | | | - in fact, you can go find some scrap lumber you |
| to the growth of the fire. The sprinkler system | | | | have lying around your organization and build |
| was not effective in extinguishing this fire, | | | | pallets, crates, boxes, and so many other |
| necessitating use of a hand held 1 3/4 inch fire | | | | applications only limited by your imagination. Plastic |
| suppression line for final extinguishment." | | | | pallets require specialized equipment, high energy |
| While a wooden pallet maintains a baseline National | | | | to produce.c. One of the best pieces of magic of |
| Fire Protection Association (NFPA) fire rating, a | | | | a wooden pallet, crate is that it's stiff, strong and |
| plastic pallet requires a one-class upgrade from | | | | yet has some flexibility and ability to absorb |
| the NFPA. If the plastic pallet is reinforced | | | | operator error from cranes, forklifts, etc. And we |
| polypropylene or polyethylene it requires a | | | | know how easy it is to repair a wooden product. |
| two-class upgrade in comparison to a wooden | | | | Plastic packaging can often be brittle and repairing |
| pallet. This brings us to what's been reported | | | | a plastic package is not feasible.d. Wood packaging |
| about lately in industry news. | | | | can be configured to any size and footprint - able |
| Some plastic pallet manufacturing companies have | | | | to be built with simple tools and on the spot to |
| taken measures to lower the class of fire hazard | | | | accommodate almost any shipping application. |
| of their pallets by incorporating fire retardant | | | | Plastic pallets require expensive, specialized |
| chemical(s) in their pallets. The chemical used by | | | | machines to manufacture.e. Wood pallets are easy |
| one of the largest producers of plastic pallets is | | | | to find and purchase, while plastic pallets continue |
| deca-bromine. From the life-cycle analysis of the | | | | to be unconventional and more difficult to source |
| largest plastic pallet provider in the United States | | | | reliably - especially if your organization is looking |
| illustrates that up to 3.4 lbs of deca-bromine can | | | | for a used pallet to save over purchasing new. |
| be infused into a plastic pallet in order to provide | | | | 4. Cost/Price |
| an even fire hazard classification with a wooden | | | | We cannot begin to imagine that the ultimate |
| pallet. There have also been concerns with fruits | | | | decision making tool for a business, especially in |
| and vegetable potentially becoming contaminated | | | | today's down economy is going to be anything |
| through a process known as hydro cooling. Hydro | | | | other than the price. Companies are looking under |
| cooling employs plastic pallets being submerged in | | | | every pallet, literally, to see if they can afford to |
| water along with the fruits and vegetables. | | | | take a board off and save thirty cents. How easy |
| Unfortunately, the FDA has not approved plastic | | | | is it to reconfigure/redesign your wooden |
| pallets for this process. There is a safety letter | | | | packaging vs. plastic packaging? You do not need |
| posted at written by an officer of the Food | | | | to be an engineer to answer that question. |
| & Drug Adminstration (FDA) regarding this | | | | Wooden pallets are considered replaceable in |
| issue. This is a very real and recent issue - April | | | | many cases because of how economical they are. |
| 2009. Maine and Washington have already | | | | Plastic pallets typically require a "rental pool" where |
| outlawed deca-bromine's use, and ten others are | | | | tracking of pallets to attempt to return them to |
| instituting a ban on the chemical (Alaska, California, | | | | the original owner is attempted to try and avoid |
| Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, | | | | passing on the cost of the pallet down to an |
| Minnesota, New York, and Vermont). | | | | organization's customer. |
| 2. Sustainability | | | | Plastic pallets are minimally three times the cost |
| So are you ready for more truth? Which is the | | | | of a comparable wooden pallet. |
| greener alternative? Can we dispel myths on both | | | | We have over 500 customers at the pallet palace |
| sides regarding wood pallets as well as plastic | | | | as we lovingly refer to our pallet company, and |
| pallets and arrive at some logical conclusions | | | | we continue to consider the impact of plastic vs. |
| together? | | | | wood at MetroPlex Wood Pallets several times a |
| Sustainability is where the plastic pallet flexes its | | | | year. For now though, based on our customers' |
| muscles as being the green alternative to wooden | | | | needs we are still largely focused on wood pallet |
| pallets. Wooden pallets require harvesting trees | | | | manufacturing and recycling. |
| and can typically weigh more than plastic pallets | | | | I encourage you to push back, send me |
| costing more to freight and leaving a larger | | | | questions, more information and continue the |
| "footprint" on the environment? Is that true? | | | | dialogue as this is an issue that seems to have |
| Plastic pallets are 100% recyclable? How do we | | | | some legs still - especially with oil prices at record |
| navigate through these green waters? For years | | | | lows. |
| my brother and I thought surely plastic pallets are | | | | |