How can you create treasure out of something you thought was trash?
Some pallet companies (Millwood included) have pallet recovery programs to help recover, recycle and re manufacture pallets. These are generally for large orders or big customers, but what if you’re a small business with only a dozen or so pallets? There are still plenty of ways to get more use out of pallets, with or without your pallet provider’s help!
Millwood’s Top 4 Suggestions to Reuse a Pallet:
- Stay Warm! If you have a stack of pallets sitting in your facility or backyard, conserve energy costs by using them for firewood! Most pallets are heat-treated rather than chemically altered, so harmful toxins found in other wood can be avoided. Be sure to double check before burning though!
- Create Super-Soil. Mulch from used pallets is organic, which allows it decompose naturally. It can also help nourish the soil. Organic mulch can protect soil from harsh weather conditions, which creates “super-soil.” It also helps seal in moisture, which plants and landscaping projects can benefit from. Finally, the organic and naturally colored mulch complements greenery in a way that manufactured mulch cannot.
- Compressed Wood Pallets or Wood Particleboard. Once the nails are separated from the wood, pallets can be chipped and used to create particleboard. That particleboard can then be used to create more wood products, from furniture to compressed wood pallets. These pallets are lighter and more ergonomically friendly (and environmentally friendly as well).
- DIY. If you have a Pinterest, there’s no doubt you’ve seen all the projects that require pallets. Whether it be walls, clubhouses, wine racks or furniture, there is a project for everyone. You can find all sorts of great ideas and directions to create your own masterpiece. Best of all, you even have time to get something completed by Father’s Day.
So if you aren’t returning pallets to be recycled, there are plenty of other options beyond throwing them away or leaving them in a warehouse or yard. Be thrifty, be curious and be creative!