Pallet recycling & disposal

Why recycle pallets?

Recycling pallets keeps usable wood out of landfills, frees up dock and yard space, and often puts money back in your pocket. Most wood pallets in the U.S. are recovered — reused, repaired, or recycled — rather than thrown away, which is exactly why a used-pallet market exists in the first place.

The reuse, repair, recycle path

A pallet usually moves through this order before anything is wasted:

• Reuse — structurally sound 48x40 pallets are inspected and resold as Grade A or Grade B.
• Repair — pallets with minor damage get boards or stringers replaced and go back into service.
• Recycle — pallets beyond repair are broken down: good boards are salvaged for repairs, and the rest is ground into mulch, animal bedding, or biomass.
• Dispose — landfill is the last resort, and very little actually needs it.

What happens to a pallet we cannot resell

A broken pallet is not automatically trash. Usable deck boards and stringers are pulled for repairing other pallets, and what is left is ground down for landscaping mulch or biomass fuel. Whether a specific load is worth recovering depends on the quantity, the condition, and where it is — which is why a few photos and a count help us tell you quickly.

Recycle, sell, or toss?

If your pallets are reusable 48x40s, selling them back is usually the best move — you clear the space and get paid instead of paying to haul them off. If they are broken or odd-sized, they may still have recycling value, so it is worth asking before you pay for a dumpster. The one option that rarely makes sense is sending a big pile of recoverable wood to a landfill.

End-of-life options for a pallet