Wood pallet use is sometimes spoken of as though it is a massive contributor to deforestation, but that’s not quite accurate. Wood pallets do require the harvest of natural resources, but many wood pallet manufacturers are seeking to make their practices more sustainable. Companies still using wood pallets in their supply chain and looking to reduce the environmental impact of wooden pallets should seek out pallet manufacturers that adhere to ecologically responsible practices, like planting trees and using softwood rather than hardwood.
An even better option is to avoid wood entirely by switching to plastic pallets. They require little use of natural resources and are easily recyclable. Pairing plastic pallets with a pooling model in which pallets are rented rather than owned is possibly the best way to make your supply chain practices sustainable.
Measuring the Environmental Impact of Wooden Pallets
Wood pallets are a staple in the supply chain, but they aren’t exactly environmentally friendly. They remove carbon-sequestering trees from the environment, contribute to overflowing landfills, and perpetuate the wasteful linear supply chain model in which items are eventually discarded. However, there are ways to lessen the environmental impact of wood pallets.
Choose responsible suppliers: One way to discourage deforestation and irresponsible logging is to work only with companies that follow selective harvesting policies. A good company will plant a tree for every one that is cut down, avoid clear-cutting, and try to manage logging operations in a way that minimizes damage to the forest ecosystem. These practices help limit the impact of logging and can lessen erosion and slow habitat loss.
Opt for softwood over hardwood: It takes 80-100 years for hardwood trees, like oak or ash, to reach maturity, yet a hardwood block pallet has a useful life of only about 15-20 trips through the supply chain. Softwood trees, on the other hand, grow more quickly, lessening the time between harvest and full replacement.
Work with pallet recyclers: After a few repairs, most wood pallets wind up in landfills where they create hazardous conditions and take up space. However, old wood pallets can be recycled into mulch that is used in landscaping and gardening. Doing so keeps bulky waste out of landfills and puts old pallets to use.
Wood is not the best pallet material for companies looking to build a sustainable, circular business model.
While it’s important to consider the environmental impact of wooden pallets and look for ways to lessen their negative effects, wood is not the best pallet material for companies looking to build a sustainable, circular business model. Pooled plastic pallets offer a number of advantages that make them both more sustainable and more cost-effective than traditional wood pallets.
Pooled Plastic Pallets as a Cleaner, Greener Alternative
While wood pallets are “downcycled” at the end of their lifespans, high-quality plastic pallets never leave the supply chain. Instead, when they’re irreparably damaged or reach the end of their useful lives, they’re simply molded into “new” pallets. This is a classic example of a truly circular business model.
A pooling model serves to improve fuel efficiency and minimize carbon emissions.
Plastic pallet pooling is a business model built on ensuring resources are used to their maximum potential. Manufacturers, warehouses, and retailers rent bulk plastic pallets from a pallet pooling provider as needed. The pooling company manages pallet supply, retrieval, and maintenance, making pallet logistics simple. The pooling model also serves to improve fuel efficiency and minimize carbon emissions, as the pooling company is able to coordinate pallet transportation between depots and customers for optimal efficiency.
The environmental impact of wooden pallets is often overstated. However, these pallets certainly aren’t the most sustainable platform choice, either. Put simply, wood can only be reused a limited number of times before it loses its integrity, while recyclable plastic pallets offer the possibility of a truly circular pallet supply model. Supply chain managers looking to lessen the effects of their operations on the environment should look to plastic pallet pooling as a sustainable, closed-loop option.
Renting iGPS plastic palletshelps companies reduce their impact on the environment. To learn more about how pooled plastic pallets can support a circular supply chain, contact us at1-800-884-0225, email a specialist atswitch@igps.net, or visit ourcontact page.
Wood pallets are a staple in the supply chain, but they aren't exactly environmentally friendly. They remove carbon-sequestering trees from the environment, contribute to overflowing landfills, and perpetuate the wasteful linear supply chain model in which items are eventually discarded.
That alone made wood pallets increasingly environmentally friendly and extended their useful lives. But at some point, pallet wood is not going to be useful anymore. When it reaches the end of its lifespan, a wood pallet does the most eco-friendly thing of all: it biodegrades.
Wood products also store carbon, reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. At the end of their initial service life, wood products are easily recycled for other uses. Wood contributes fewer greenhouse gas emissions than non-renewable steel and concrete.
Pallets with an MB stamp have been treated with a highly toxic pesticide which can be necessary in certain regions of the world where there are pests that can't be eliminated by heat treatments. You should never use pallets with a MB stamp for any home project nor should they be burned.
They remove carbon-sequestering trees from the environment, contribute to overflowing landfills, and perpetuate the wasteful linear supply chain model in which items are eventually discarded. However, there are ways to lessen the environmental impact of wood pallets.
Firstly, wood is a quite heavy material, and because of that it can break easier than other materials. Another downside would be the fact that it cannot be cleaned easily. Additionally, there is a higher risk of growing bacteria and fungus, which makes it unsafe for transporting food or other sensitive items.
Residential wood burning creates more PM2.5 pollution in California than the exhaust emissions of all motor vehicles on the road. A study of the the ecotoxicities of urban particulate matter found that wood smoke was more ecotoxic than particulates emitted from modern diesel engines.
Each tree is influenced by different environmental conditions like light, water and nutrition [3]; additionally mechanical loads such as wind greatly affect the properties of wood. In a natural environment, the trees always find a compromise between strength, water transportation and nutrition storage.
There are many types of sustainable wood you can choose from - mango wood is a fast-growing hardwood that is a by-product of mango farms, so this is ideal to produce sustainable furniture from. Other materials, such as, rattan, Douglas fir, certified oak and ashwood are also sustainable.
Pallets are either heat-treated (heated to a high temperature in kilns to seal the wood) or treated with methyl bromide — a toxic pesticide that has been linked to human health problems and ozone layer depletion.
Avoid chemically treated pallets to keep you, your family, and your vegetables safe from toxic contaminants. As an added warning, do not use a pallet stamped with an MB, which stands for Methyl Bromide.
Heat treat pallets are required for all wood packaging material used in international shipments. One of the necessary steps for ensuring the safety of not only the product being shipped, but also the environment of the product's destination, is heat treatment.
First, many pallets are constructed using green or wet wood. The wood will eventually dry below 20 percent MC, but mold fungi can grow into and sporulate on the pallet while this process occurs. In addition, pallets can be rewetted when stored outdoors, allowing other mold fungi to colonize the wood.
Unlike disposable materials like plastic, wood pallets can get repaired if damaged, giving them a significantly longer lifespan. It makes them an economical choice for businesses that ship products regularly, as they can continue to use the same pallets for an extended period.
Wooden pallets are highly susceptible to decay because of their biodegradable organic composition. The environmentally friendly part of pallets can also be their downfall.
Paper pallets are cheaper than the cheapest one-trip wood pallets. An additional benefit is that, unlike wood, they don't have to be heat-treated or fumigated to meet international mandates against wood-boring insects. Paper pallets are at their cost-effective best when they require no enhancement.
Pallets are 'treated' to help prevent the spread of pests, insects, and microbes between different countries. Today you'll commonly see 'HT' as the treatment, which means 'heat treated', so pallets with this stamp have been heated to a certain point to ensure any and all bugs in the wood have been killed off.
Introduction: My name is Arline Emard IV, I am a cheerful, gorgeous, colorful, joyous, excited, super, inquisitive person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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