Pallet guides
Short, practical guides in three parts: telling pallets apart, dealing with rental pallets that aren't yours, and getting the most from the ones that are.
Identification
- 2 min readBlue, red, white: pallet colors explained
What a pallet's paint tells you about who owns it. Blue, red, unpainted and plastic pallets, and what to do with each.
- 2 min readReading pallet stencils and stamps
How to read the marks on a pallet. Owner stencils show who owns it; the ISPM 15 treatment stamp shows how the wood was treated, not who owns it.
- 2 min readBlock vs stringer pallets
The two ways wood pallets are built, how to tell them apart in seconds, and why construction affects value but not ownership.
Pooled pallets
- 2 min readRental pallets you didn't order: what to do
Blue, red or plastic pool pallets keep turning up with deliveries. Why they aren't yours, why you shouldn't sell or scrap them, and how to get them collected.
- 2 min readHow pallet pooling works
Pallet pooling explained in plain terms. Who owns pooled pallets, who pays for them, how they travel and why the strays end up on your dock.
- 2 min readBlue, red and plastic pools, compared
The main North American pallet pools side by side. How to recognize each pool's pallets, what they're made of and where to request a pickup.
- 2 min readCalifornia's AB 1760 explained
What California's 2022 pallet law does for recyclers holding stray rental pallets, the 35-day rule, the court fight, and what it means for everyone else.
Your own pallets
- 2 min readWhat white-wood pallets are worth
The five things that decide what a used white-wood pallet is worth, why scrap pallets aren't bought, and how to get the most for a stack.
- 2 min readHow broken pallets are recycled
The path a broken wood pallet takes, from repair and dismantling to grinding into mulch, bedding and fuel, and why sorting at the dock matters.
- 2 min readKeeping a dock clear of pallet buildup
A practical routine for docks that receive pallets every week. A four-zone staging area, a collection rhythm, and how to keep rental pallets from going astray.