Pallet re-use and recycling saves high value material from landfills

Abstract

Pallets move the world. In the United States, an estimated 4 billion pallets are in daily service. Nationwide, on an annual basis, an estimated 441 million new pallets are manufactured and 357 million pallets are repaired or rebuilt from discarded pallets. Manufacturing these pallets consumes more than seven billion bd ft1 of lumber annually, roughly two-thirds hardwoods. This makes the pallet industry the single most important user of hardwood lumber (by volume) in North America.

Citation

Buehlmann, Urs; Araman, Philip; Bush, Robert. 2010. Pallet re-use and recycling saves high value material from landfills. Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources, Blacksburg, VA. Engagement Matters 2(1):8,10.