Pallets are one of the most used products in Australian supply chains, and most of them end up being thrown away after a single trip. For businesses that care about their environmental footprint, the question of which pallets to buy matters more than it used to. Recycled pallets are a strong option, and this guide explains why, along with the points worth checking before you switch.

A pallet is environmentally friendly when it keeps useful material in use for longer. The most direct way to do that is to reuse timber that has already been harvested and milled, rather than cutting new boards every time a pallet is needed. Reclaimed and recycled pallets do exactly this. Boards are inspected, repaired and reassembled, and any timber that can't be used for pallets is put to another purpose.

Every recycled pallet is a pallet that doesn't go to landfill. At Plain Pallets, we repurpose thousands of pallets every week, and we process around 500 tonnes of recycled timber boards each week to turn into new, sturdy pallets for our clients. Scrap timber that can't be used for pallets is chipped on site and sent for processing into garden mulch, so very little of the original material is wasted.

A pallet is environmentally friendly when it keeps useful material in use for longer. The most direct way to do that is to reuse timber that has already been harvested and milled, rather than cutting new boards every time a pallet is needed. Reclaimed and recycled pallets do exactly this. Boards are inspected, repaired and reassembled, and any timber that can't be used for pallets is put to another purpose.

Recycled pallets aren't the answer for every job. Export shipments often need heat-treated or ISPM 15 compliant pallets to meet the destination country's import rules, and some sensitive or specialised loads need a pallet built to exact specifications. In those cases, a new or custom timber pallet is the right call. Even then, you can ask about options that balance performance with sustainability.

Start by matching the pallet to the job. Use recycled or composite pallets for domestic storage and freight, and reserve new timber for export or custom work. Ask your supplier how they handle end-of-life pallets and whether they can take back damaged stock.

If you want to see how we approach this, our environmental policy sets out how we operate and the standards we follow with Sustainability Victoria and EPA Victoria.

Ready to switch to recycled pallets for your business? Talk to our team about the right options for your loads and volumes, or browse our used wooden pallets.