Field key
Whose pallet is this?
Answer one question at a time about the pallet in front of you. The key ends with who most likely owns it and whether it's yours to sell, recycle or return. Nothing is stored.
Probably yours: a plain plastic pallet
No owner is named, so it was most likely sold outright with the load, or bought by your business.
Plastic pallets that carry no pool name, tag or "property of" mark are usually one-way or owned pallets. Sound ones can be resold; cracked ones are reground by plastic recyclers.
If you're unsure, check your supplier's paperwork. Some shippers lend their own plastic pallets and expect them back.
Your answers so far:
- What is the pallet made of? Plastic: molded in one or two pieces
- Is a company name molded into the plastic, or is there an RFID tag or "property of" label? No: plain plastic, no owner named
How the key decides
Ownership is marked on the pallet. Rental pools paint their pallets a solid color and stencil or mold their name on them, because they need strays to be recognized and sent back. A pallet with no paint and no owner mark is almost always a white-wood pallet, bought and sold outright. Construction and condition don't change who owns a pallet; they decide whether it's reused, repaired or recycled.
What the key won't tell you
It can't read a pallet you can't see, and colors fade. When a stencil names an owner, the stencil wins over the color. When in doubt, treat a painted pallet as someone else's and ask the company named on it.
All the outcomes
- A rental pallet. It goes back to its owner
- A rental pallet. It goes back to its owner
- A plastic rental pallet. It goes back to its owner
- Probably yours: a plain plastic pallet
- Someone else's pallet: contact the company on the mark
- A white-wood pallet, and it's yours to sell
- A repairable white-wood pallet, yours to sell or recycle
- Scrap: yours to recycle