Great Lakes Circular Materials Roundtable: Pallets - April 14, 2020
Overview
The first virtual roundtable was held on April 14, 2020, and focused on pallets - a universally difficult material to manage for many facilities in the region. 53 participants joined the virtual discussion, representing a range of businesses and organizations either:
generating/storing pallets and looking for a solution (46%)
providing solutions to help entities manage pallets (15%)
or enabling connections through a government or academic role (38%)
Speakers from Dicastal Logistics Group, Kurtz Brothers, Shepherd Hardware, and Kamps Pallets helped participants understand some of the key challenges when working with the material, and helped tee-up potential solutions for the group to later explore in breakout groups.
Key Takeaways
Used pallets in good condition and meeting the right size specifications can be reused, repaired, or remanufactured to maintain or increase the economic value of the pallet lifecycle. Tools like the Materials Marketplace can help uncover these business-to-business connections, and solution providers in the pallets space can be important connectors.
Pallets that are no longer in condition for industrial purposes can be mulched - but plywood, OSB or painted and stained pallets are challenging for this use case.
Proper storage of unused pallets is very important for maintaining value and applicability of higher/better use applications. Pallets stored outside for long periods of time deteriorate and attract pests, making them less desirable.
Companies should engage their supply chain to drive awareness and education around best practices for pallet types, sizes and uses.
Undesirable pallets that cannot be reused, repaired or recycled can be burned at biomass facilities as an energy source, but access to those facilities is limited and they're currently inundated with materials.
Action Items
If you haven’t already, set up an account on the Materials Marketplace.
Post listings on your available and wanted materials - our pallets category will ask a few specifics about the types of pallets available.
Use the Materials Marketplace to connect with other roundtable attendees - and feel free to reach out to our team if you’d like to connect with anyone specifically.
