Pallet Observations

By Matt Yancey, General Manager and Sales Director

I was recently asked by a customer what makes our business and industry "green".  In my opinion, the wooden pallets are the "greenest way to ship."  This is what I told him.

At Dominion Pallet, our manufacturing process makes every effort to let nothing go to waste.  Wood waste and scrap lumber never end up in a landfill.  We find a use for every bit of wood we have on our lumber yard.  During the sawing of the lumber, saw dust and shavings are collected using a blower system. That dust is later sold for animal bedding, boiler fuel or to wood pellet manufacturers.  While making the pallets, wood that is not up to standard is put in racks and either cut back to fill another pallet's spec, chipped to be used as bedding or sent to a pallet recycler.

Wood pallet manufacturers use industrial graded lumber.  If this lumber was not used in pallets it would be chipped into mulch, or boiler fuel immediately.  Wooden pallets are the "greenest" way to ship. 

From cradle to grave, wooden pallets are better for the environment:

• Use the least demanded part of the tree
• Used repeatedly to ship goods and are repaired to extend life
• Can be recycled and when it is not practical to repair the pallet anymore are chipped and used for mulch