Research determines intelligent consumption of forest products is growing and saving trees - an example with wooden pallets

Wooden pallets help transport, store and sell products demanded by all of us. As our population and product demands increase, so do the demands for wooden pallets. We will present data on the industrial demands for wooden pallets. We will explain how increased demands for wood pallets in the US have required less new wood from trees and show that the pallet industry is an intelligent consumer of forest products. The key as determined by our research is the dramatic growth in the recovery, repair, and reuse of used wood pallets resulting in reduced impacts on standing timber. This has had major impacts on our timber sustainability. We will also present our data showing the reduced landfilling of wooden pallets. Research results defuse the rhetoric that most pallets are used one time and then sent to landfills. We will also present estimates on the amount of timber not harvested (saved) due to recovery, repair and reuse of wooden pallets. It was the equivalent of over 30 million tree saved in 2000.