Recycling & Upcycling
Our zero-waste recycling program transforms end-of-life pallets into reusable materials. We divert 95% of pallet materials from landfills, turning waste into resources while reducing your environmental footprint.
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From Collection to New Life
Every pallet that enters our facility goes through a rigorous five-step process designed to extract maximum value and minimize waste. Here is exactly what happens.
Collection
We collect used and damaged pallets from your facility. Our fleet picks up pallets of all types and conditions, ensuring nothing goes to waste.
Sorting
Pallets arrive at our facility and are sorted by type, size, material, and condition. Repairable pallets are separated from those destined for recycling.
Disassembly
Pallets that cannot be repaired are carefully disassembled. Boards, stringers, blocks, and hardware are separated for individual processing.
Grading & Processing
Salvaged lumber is graded and sorted. Good boards are set aside for pallet repair. Unusable wood is processed into mulch, animal bedding, or biomass fuel.
Reuse & Distribution
Salvaged materials re-enter the supply chain. Repair boards go into refurbished pallets. Wood chips become mulch. Nails and hardware are recycled as scrap metal.
Recycling in Action
Every Pallet Sorted, Processed & Given New Purpose
Environmental Impact
Every pallet recycled makes a measurable difference. Here are the numbers that drive our mission.
Where Do Materials Go?
Nothing goes to waste in our facility. Every component of a pallet is recovered and redirected to a productive use. Here is the breakdown of our material recovery streams.
Pallet Repair Stock
45%Good boards and stringers are cleaned, graded, and used to repair other pallets. This is the highest-value recovery stream.
Landscape Mulch
25%Clean wood that cannot be used for repair is ground into premium landscape mulch, sold to garden centers and landscaping companies.
Animal Bedding
15%Fine wood shavings are processed into absorbent animal bedding for equestrian facilities, farms, and pet suppliers.
Biomass Fuel
10%The smallest wood particles and sawdust are compressed into biomass fuel pellets, providing renewable energy for industrial boilers.
Metal Recycling
5%Nails, staples, and metal hardware are collected via magnetic separation and sold to scrap metal recyclers.
Zero-Waste Commitment
Our zero-waste approach means that we find a productive second life for every single component of every pallet that enters our facility. No material is sent to a landfill when there is a viable alternative.
Every pallet component is sorted and categorized
Good lumber becomes repair stock for refurbished pallets
Unusable wood is ground into mulch, bedding, or biomass fuel
Metal hardware is magnetically separated and recycled
Material recovery rate exceeds 95% across all streams
Full chain-of-custody tracking from collection to reuse
ESG Reporting Support
Need environmental impact data for your ESG reports? We provide detailed documentation for every recycling engagement including:
Recycling Programs
Choose the recycling program that fits your operation. From one-time cleanouts to ongoing partnerships.
One-Time Cleanout
Have a pile of pallets you need gone? We will come pick them up, sort them, and recycle everything responsibly. Perfect for warehouse cleanouts, facility moves, or seasonal surplus.
Recurring Pickup
Set up scheduled pickups on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. Our team handles everything so pallet waste never piles up. Includes priority scheduling and dedicated account support.
Full Management
Our most comprehensive program. We manage your entire pallet recycling operation including on-site sorting, regular collection, reporting, and continuous optimization of your pallet waste stream.
Who Benefits from Pallet Recycling?
Pallet recycling is not just for companies with environmental goals. It is a practical solution that saves money, frees up space, and eliminates the headache of pallet disposal for businesses of every size and industry.
Warehouses & Distribution Centers
High-volume facilities accumulate thousands of damaged pallets that take up valuable floor space. Our recycling program removes those pallets on a regular schedule, keeping your dock clear and your operation efficient. Many DCs find that recycling eliminates their pallet waste management costs entirely.
Manufacturers
Manufacturing plants generate pallet waste from inbound raw material shipments. Rather than paying for dumpster service to haul away broken pallets, recycling turns that waste stream into a managed process that often generates revenue from usable materials recovered during sorting.
Retail Chains
Retail stores receive pallets from hundreds of vendors in all conditions. Our recycling programs handle the entire pallet waste stream for multi-location retail operations with per-store pickup schedules, centralized reporting, and consistent service across all your locations.
Companies with ESG Goals
If your company has committed to environmental, social, and governance targets, pallet recycling is one of the easiest and most impactful initiatives you can implement. We provide audit-ready documentation that quantifies your environmental impact for annual sustainability reports.
Food & Beverage
Food industry operations have strict waste management requirements. Our recycling program ensures that pallet waste is handled in compliance with food safety regulations. We also separate contaminated pallets for appropriate processing, protecting your facility from cross-contamination risks.
Businesses Moving or Downsizing
Facility relocations and downsizing projects often uncover hundreds or thousands of accumulated pallets. Our one-time cleanout service removes everything quickly and responsibly, with a complete accounting of materials recovered and recycled.
Recycling vs. Landfill Disposal
Still sending pallets to the landfill? Here is why switching to our recycling program is better for your budget and the planet.
| Factor | Landfill Disposal | EcoPallets Pro Recycling |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | You pay disposal fees | Free collection (often we pay you) |
| Environmental Impact | Contributes to methane emissions | 95% landfill diversion rate |
| Material Recovery | 0% recovery | 95%+ material recovery |
| ESG Reporting | Negative impact on reports | Full documentation provided |
| Space Management | Wait for scheduled hauling | Flexible pickup scheduling |
| Regulatory Compliance | Potential disposal regulations | Fully compliant chain-of-custody |
| Carbon Footprint | Increases carbon emissions | Reduces carbon footprint |
Our recycling collection service is free for qualifying volumes. For many clients, we actually pay for pallets that have recoverable value. Compare that to $3-8 per pallet in typical landfill disposal fees and the savings are immediately apparent.
Every pallet recycled instead of replaced with a new one conserves approximately 3.5 gallons of water that would otherwise be used in lumber processing and new pallet manufacturing. At scale, this represents millions of gallons conserved annually.
Each pallet that enters our recycling stream instead of a landfill avoids approximately 0.06 tons of solid waste. Across our annual volume of 2 million pallets, that translates to 120,000 tons of waste diverted from landfills every year.
Upcycled Products from Recycled Pallets
Recycling is not just about breaking things down. It is about creating value. Our upcycling program transforms pallet materials into a range of secondary products that serve industries far beyond logistics. This creates additional revenue streams that support the economics of our zero-waste model and deliver useful products to customers who value sustainable sourcing.
Every ton of pallet wood that becomes mulch, bedding, or biomass fuel is a ton of material that stays out of the landfill while serving a productive purpose. Our material processing facility is equipped with industrial grinders, screeners, and pelletizers that transform raw pallet wood into finished products meeting specific quality standards for each end-use application.
We also work with local artisans and furniture makers who purchase select pallet lumber for creative woodworking projects. Pallet wood has a distinctive character that makes it popular for rustic furniture, wall art, garden structures, and other decorative applications. This small but meaningful outlet adds another dimension to our material recovery efforts.
Premium Landscape Mulch
10,000+ cubic yards/yearOur mulch is produced from clean, untreated pallet wood. It is double-ground and screened to a consistent size for professional landscaping applications. Available in natural color or dyed in red, brown, and black. Sold in bulk by the cubic yard to landscapers, garden centers, and municipalities.
Animal Bedding
5,000+ bales/yearFine wood shavings are processed to specific moisture content and particle size standards for use as animal bedding in equestrian facilities, poultry farms, and pet product manufacturing. Our bedding is kiln-dried, dust-extracted, and packaged for easy handling.
Biomass Fuel Pellets
2,000+ tons/yearWood waste too small for other applications is compressed into standardized fuel pellets used in industrial boilers and residential pellet stoves. Our pellets meet PFI certification standards for density, moisture content, and BTU output, providing a renewable energy alternative to fossil fuels.
Pallet Repair Lumber
45% of all materialThe highest-value recovery stream. Good boards and stringers salvaged from disassembled pallets are graded and added to our repair lumber inventory. This material goes directly back into pallet refurbishment, creating a true closed-loop cycle within our operation.
Scrap Metal Recovery
100+ tons/yearNails, staples, and metal fasteners are separated from wood using industrial magnetic equipment. The recovered metal is cleaned, sorted, and sold to scrap metal recyclers for smelting and remanufacturing. Even this small material stream contributes to our zero-waste goal.
Recycling Questions Answered
Is there a minimum number of pallets for recycling pickup?
For scheduled pickups, we typically require a minimum of 50 pallets for local collection and 200+ for long-distance pickups. However, there is no minimum for drop-off at our facility. For businesses with smaller volumes, we recommend our monthly collection option which batches smaller quantities for cost-efficient pickup.
Do you recycle plastic pallets as well as wood?
Yes. We recycle both wood and plastic pallets. Plastic pallets made from HDPE and PP are particularly valuable for recycling because the material can be reground and remanufactured into new pallets or other plastic products. Even broken plastic pallets have significant regrind value. Contact us for current pricing on plastic pallet recycling.
How do you handle pallets that may have been contaminated?
We have protocols for handling contaminated pallets. Pallets that have been in contact with chemicals, food spills, or hazardous materials are segregated and processed separately. We follow EPA guidelines for the disposal or treatment of contaminated wood. If you have pallets with known contamination, please inform us at the time of scheduling so we can prepare accordingly.
Can you provide recycling certificates for our records?
Absolutely. Every recycling engagement includes a Certificate of Recycling documenting the quantity of pallets processed, material recovery rates, landfill diversion metrics, and estimated environmental impact. These certificates are formatted for inclusion in ESG reports and are available in both summary and detailed formats.
How does pallet recycling help our sustainability goals?
Pallet recycling directly impacts several key sustainability metrics. It reduces landfill waste, lowers carbon emissions by avoiding the energy-intensive production of new pallets, conserves water resources, and preserves forests by reducing demand for virgin lumber. We quantify all of these impacts in our reporting so you can demonstrate measurable progress toward your sustainability targets.
What happens if we have a sudden surge of pallets to recycle?
We can handle surge volumes with short notice. Our fleet and processing capacity are scaled to accommodate fluctuations. If you are planning a warehouse cleanout, seasonal inventory adjustment, or facility relocation, let us know as early as possible and we will schedule additional capacity. For urgent situations, we offer priority pickup within 24-48 hours in most metro areas.
Certified Responsible Recycling
Our recycling operations are built on industry-leading standards and transparent practices. Here is what backs our commitment to responsible pallet recycling.
EPA Compliant
All recycling operations meet or exceed Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for wood waste processing, air quality standards, and material handling procedures. Regular audits ensure ongoing compliance with federal and state environmental regulations.
NWPCA Member
As a member of the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association, we adhere to industry best practices for pallet recovery, repair, and recycling. NWPCA membership reflects our commitment to professional standards in the pallet industry.
Chain-of-Custody
We maintain full chain-of-custody documentation from the moment pallets enter our facility to the final disposition of every material stream. This traceability ensures accountability and provides the documentation our clients need for regulatory and reporting purposes.
Zero-Waste Certified
Our facility has achieved zero-waste certification with a 95% or greater diversion rate from landfill. This certification is audited annually and covers all material streams including wood, metal, and incidental waste from our recycling operations.
Go Zero Waste Today
Join the growing number of businesses choosing responsible pallet recycling. Get a free assessment and find out how much you can divert from landfill.