What Actually Happens to a Pallet After You Throw It Away

An estimated 420 million pallets are retired from service in the United States every year. Some are barely scratched; others are splintered beyond recognition. But regardless of condition, every retired pallet faces one of two fates: it enters a recycling stream, or it ends up in a landfill. The path it takes depends almost entirely on what the last person who touched it decides to do.

The Landfill Path

When a pallet is thrown into a dumpster or waste compactor, it enters the municipal solid waste stream. A waste hauler collects it and delivers it to a transfer station or directly to a landfill. The pallet is buried under layers of other waste, where it begins a slow decomposition process that takes 15-20 years depending on moisture and conditions.

During decomposition, the wood releases methane — a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than CO2 over a 100-year period. A single landfilled pallet generates approximately 16 kg of CO2-equivalent emissions over its decomposition period. Multiply that by the estimated 60 million pallets landfilled annually in the US, and the total emissions are staggering: nearly 1 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year from pallet waste alone.

The Recycling Path

When a pallet enters a recycling facility like ours, its journey is very different. Within hours of arrival, every pallet is inspected by a trained grader who evaluates its condition and assigns it to one of four streams.

• Reuse as-is (Grade A/B): Pallets in good condition are cleaned, re-sorted by size, and returned to inventory for resale. About 35% of incoming pallets take this path.
• Repair and return: Pallets with minor damage — a cracked deck board, a missing lead board, a loose nail — are repaired and returned to service. About 35% of incoming pallets are repaired.
• Dismantle for parts: Pallets beyond economical repair are carefully taken apart. Sound boards and stringers are stockpiled as repair components. About 20% of incoming pallets are dismantled.
• Grind for secondary products: Wood that cannot be reused in any pallet application is ground into mulch, animal bedding, compost feedstock, or biomass fuel. About 10% of incoming material takes this path.

The Numbers That Matter

Across all four streams, a well-run recycling operation recovers 98% of incoming material by weight. Only 2% — primarily contaminated wood (paint, chemical stains) and non-wood debris — reaches a landfill. Compare that to the 100% landfill rate of the disposal path.

The economic difference is equally dramatic. Disposing of a pallet costs the generator $1.50-$3.00. Recycling that same pallet generates $0.50-$7.00 in value depending on condition. For a company generating 500 pallets per month, the swing from disposal cost to recycling revenue can exceed $50,000 annually.

What You Can Do

The single most impactful action any company can take is to separate pallets from their general waste stream. Once a pallet enters a dumpster, it is almost certainly headed for a landfill. But a pallet stacked in a designated area on your loading dock is a phone call away from entering the recycling stream. We offer free pickup for quantities of 50 or more pallets — regardless of condition. There is no cost, no contract, and no minimum quality requirement.

We used to pay a waste company $2,800 a month to haul away our pallets. Now Commercial Pallet picks them up for free and sends us a check for $1,400. Same pallets. Completely different outcome for our budget and the environment.