The ubiquity of the simple pallet cannot be denied; in every warehouse, distribution centre, haulage firm; all freight rests on a pallet.
Yet from Auckland to New Hampshire, tonnes of pallets are thrown out every year.
In Sydney alone, 140,000 tonnes are thrown into landfills each year. Recycling this ‘waste’ can generate energy for households and industries.
With trends in supply chain management focusing on reducing transport costs, meeting industry sanitation requirements, space optimisation, and achieving a better ROI, how can management also focus on staying ‘green’? Increasing the use of automation and reducing product damage can improve bottom line. Another way is by studying current processes and optimising for better results.
Let’s take it back to the basics.
Starting with the humble pallet, how can we make better choices that will boost bottom-line profits? The use of plastic pallets dates back about 20 years old. However it is becoming more widely used, largely in part to sustainability concerns. Historically, wood has been the go-to material for pallets (since World War 2), but climate change and increased environmental awareness and responsibility requires us to re-examine this use.
A study in 2012, showed that constructing pallets consumed as much hardwood as ALL other uses combined. A staggering thought, absurd even, till you remember most wooden pallets are single-use. Used once and discarded, this amounts to a colossal waste of wood. Recycling is an option, but busy warehouses tend to overlook this, leading to huge piles of discarded pallets dotted around the warehouse premises.
To avoid this waste, the pallet supply industry provides a pallet return services or a drop-off and pick-up service. Choosing a pallet type goes beyond the cost of the pallet. How will your choice impact your business?
Performance over time – Degradation of single use pallets means that their load bearing capacity diminishes over time. This reduces overall functionality. Reusable pallets withstand harsh weather conditions and still maintain a consistent load capacity.
Versatility – In a bid to save space, designers made plastic pallets stackable AND nestable. This allows fewer shipping trips and costs. Single use pallets are usually only stackable.
Impact on workers – Wooden pallets notoriously hide splinters, rusty nails, even bugs. All these can injure a worker, leading to downtime. Reusable pallets have none of these and are also much safer to stack.
Aesthetics – With rounded corners, smooth surface, availability in company colours, reusable pallets are a visually appealing choice. As wooden pallets degrade, any company markings stencilled on, will fade away.
Storage and return efficiency – The nestable qualities of plastic pallets allows a large quantity to be transported at any given time. The varying sizes and configurations of wooden pallets can make it hard to quickly build a stack to be moved.
Be able to be loaded uniformly – Their uniform shapes and stackable/rackable qualities allow the maximum amount if freight to be loaded every time. Wooden pallets come in too many different sizes and orientations; this makes it harder to take full advantage of spaces in trailers.
With wooden pallets, the service life is limited, to about 10 trips before it starts to splinter and fall apart. Plastic pallets average 250 trips before they may need to be replaced. The evidence supporting the use of plastic over wood is overwhelming on all angles. This has led more companies to implement changes in their pallet program.
Notable among them is IKEA which switched from wooden to paper pallets in a bid to stay green. Monarch Shelving Limited, a leading supplier of pallet racks, urges you to re-examine your processes. Combining a reusable pallet program and our quality pallet racks can help improve your bottom-line.
