When the word ‘pallet’ comes to mind, most people begin to visualize a classic wooden pallet. While those may be the most widespread across today’s supply chains, different types of pallets including plastic and metal variants have emerged to address the challenges that come from the average pallet. With more options available now than ever before, how do you choose the pallet that’s right for your needs?
Running any business in today’s economy is challenging, but choices like these should be made with care and consideration. In today’s article we aim to ease your decision-making by providing you with an in-depth comparison between the different types of pallets available.
We will achieve this by highlighting the difference between plastic, wood and metal pallets, providing you with some expert insight and much-needed decision relief. We will further explore the advantages, challenges and best use cases for each, and empower your decision-making with the required factors to take into account when choosing which type of pallet is right for you and your company.
What Is A Pallet?
To start, let’s define a pallet:
A pallet is a flat, portable platform used for the storage, handling, and transportation of goods and materials. They typically consist of three sections, namely a deck, stringers or blocks, and a base.
The pallet deck is the flat surface at the top where goods are placed. Pallet decks may be slatted or solid.
The stringers or blocks refer to the middle section, which provides structural support to the pallet and the space needed for the fork tines of handling equipment to lift the pallet.
The base is the bottom part of a pallet that rests on the ground. It can be open, solid or designed for specific uses as in the case of nestable plastic pallets. A nestable pallet is a type of pallet that when not in use can save space by allowing multiple pallets to be nested within each other.
They are manufactured either using plastic, wood or metal and each one of these materials possesses its own advantages and challenges. Let’s start by unpacking the ins and outs of plastic pallets.
Plastic Pallets
Our personal favorite is, of course, the plastic pallet. Typically made from High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Polypropylene (PP) or recycled plastics, plastic pallets are known for their durability, reliability and resistance to moisture and chemicals.
Advantages
The aforementioned advantages make plastic pallets a popular choice in various industries. Let’s explore these advantages a bit more in-depth.
Durability: Plastic pallets are known for their longevity and resistance to wear and tear. Unlike their wooden peers, they do not splinter, crack or warp. This durability gives plastic pallets a longer lifespan than that of their wooden and metal counterparts.
Reliability: Plastic pallets maintain a consistent weight and size, regardless of environmental factors like temperature and moisture. Unlike wood pallets that warp, bend and vary in weight and dimension, plastic pallets remain unaffected, providing long-term reliability in various settings. This makes plastic pallets perfectly suited for automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) warehouses. This reliability also exempts plastic pallets from ISPM 15 treatment requirements. This requirement mandates that wood with a thickness greater than 6 mm be treated to be used to ship products between countries.
Resistance to Chemicals and Moisture: Plastic pallets are impervious to moisture and most chemicals like acids and alkalis. This makes them suited for industries like chemical manufacturing, pharmaceuticals as well as food and beverage production.
Sustainability: When many people hear the word “plastic,” it often brings about the image of single use items in landfills piled high. Luckily, in this case, the conjured picture can’t be further from the truth. Plastic pallets can be produced responsibly, reused hundreds of times, and can even be produced through the use of recycled materials. This is dependent on the manufacturer, so be sure to do your due diligence and choose a manufacturer that has a recycling program (like us!).
Challenges
When it comes to plastic pallets, one potential barrier to entry is their higher initial cost compared to wooden pallets.
Higher Initial Cost: The upfront costs of plastic pallets are higher than wooden pallets, which may be a deterrent to some businesses. Their durability, however, allows them to typically last for more than a decade and gives you a much greater return on investment than other material options. Plastic pallets are for the long game players.
Best Uses
Now that we know the advantages and challenges of plastic pallets, what are the ideal industries in which one would use them?
Plastic pallets are particularly suited for industries where hygiene is paramount. These industries include the pharmaceutical industry as well as food and beverage production. These pallets’ durability, reliability, and resistance to chemicals and moisture make them ideally suited to frequent sanitation and multiple uses.
Think plastic pallets might be right for your business? Contact us today to start implementing them in your logistics.
Wooden Pallets
If we are talking about pallets, we need to mention wooden pallets. The (in)famous pallets you see people on TikTok use to build couches and beds. Wooden pallets have been the industry standard for years due to their comparingly low upfront cost, widespread availability and ease of repair. Let’s look at these a bit more closely, and forget the possibility of a rustic couch for a second.
Advantages
Lower Cost: Wooden pallets are generally cheaper than plastic and metal pallets. This makes them a cost-effective choice for many businesses. Their shorter lifespan, however, inevitably leads to more frequent recurring costs. More on that in a moment.
Widespread Availability and Versatility: Wooden pallets are readily available and can be sourced in most areas. This ease of availability makes them a popular choice. They are also versatile and can be custom made to different sizes and specifications to match specific industry needs.
Ease of Repair: Something that counts in the favor of wooden pallets is the ease with which they can be repaired. Should a wooden slat break, it can be easily replaced. It does however bring the Ship of Theseus to mind. At what point is it still the initial pallet?
Challenges
Wooden pallets are not impervious like their plastic peers and their metal counterparts. Wooden pallets are susceptible to various contaminants like moisture and pests, which result in a shorter lifespan and additional headaches.
Susceptibility to Moisture and Pests: Wooden pallets are susceptible to moisture. Absorbing moisture can cause these pallets to grow mold, which is absolutely a no-go for hygienic facilities. The absorbed moisture also leads to decreased structural integrity as a result of the breakdown in structural fibers. Finally, the sturdiness of the pallets is also influenced by pests like termites that eat the wood.
Shorter Lifespan: We told you we would come back to this when looking at wooden pallets’ so-called lower costs, didn’t we? Due to susceptibility to moisture and pests as well as easy wear and tear, wooden pallets have a much shorter lifespan than their fellow metal and plastic pallets. Recurring costs in the form of repairs and replacements do subtract from their initial appeal.
Best Uses:
Wooden pallets do have their place in some industries. They are ideally suited for industries where cost efficiency is crucial and the amount of use per pallet is limited.
If you’re tired of buying wooden pallets in bulk, consider plastic pallets for a change.
Metal Pallets
The final type of pallet we will discuss is metal pallets. These are the heavy-duty variations implemented where extreme durability, high weight capacity, and resistance to damage are required.
Advantages
Extreme Durability: Metal pallets are incredibly durable and can withstand heavy loads and harsh conditions, but their durability extends only so far. The pallets may be unsuited for chemical manufacturing environments, due to the risk of corrosion.
High Weight Capacity: These pallets are the Atlas of the pallet world. Able to carry more weight than plastic or wooden pallets. This makes them suitable for heavy-duty applications like freight shipping.
Resistance to Damage: Metal pallets are resistant to most forms of damage including impact from daily use.
Challenges
For all their high points, metal pallets do have drawbacks. These challenges include being heavier and more expensive than plastic or wooden pallets.
Heavier weight: Metal pallets are heavy in comparison to other types of palettes, and can be up to 150% more in weight. This makes handling them much more challenging.
Higher Cost: Metal pallets also come with a much higher price tag than plastic or wooden pallets. The associated costs extend from the initial purchase costs to the ongoing repair costs like corrosion treatment.
Best Uses:
Due to their robust nature, metal pallets are suited for industries that require long-term solutions. This includes heavy machinery, automotive, and military applications.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Pallet Material
Now that we know the advantages, challenges and best uses of plastic, wooden and metal pallets, some factors to consider when choosing a pallet material have repeatedly shown themselves. These factors are load capacity, environmental impact and industry requirements.
Load Capacity:
When deciding on a pallet material, one of the biggest factors to consider is load capacity. Choosing the wrong pallet material can lead to pallet failure, injuries and even death. Consider how much weight is intended to be placed on a pallet. Metal pallets generally offer the highest load capacity, but may be overkill in most applications apart from heavy industry and military uses.
Environmental Impact:
Evaluate and consider the sustainability and recyclability of the pallet material. Wooden pallets are biodegradable, but they lead to trees being cut down for their use. Plastic and metal pallets on the other hand are recyclable and their durability leads to a much lower replacement frequency. It all depends on the pallets’ intended use. At PSI we make it easy to do your part for the planet with our pallet recycling program. We offer our clients the option of recycling pallets by selling them back to us when they’re no longer needed- then those pallets are melted down and recycled into new ones with the same outstanding physical properties.
Contact us to speak directly with a pallet expert and find out more about our unique pallet recycling program.
Industry Requirements:
When selecting the right pallet material, it is important to consider the industry in which it will be implemented. Wooden pallets are not suited for pharmaceutical and beverage industries due to their susceptibility to pests and moisture; while metal pallets are not suited for refineries due to their chemical reactivity.
Each industry has its own requirements to ensure safety, compliance and efficiency such as FM 4996 approval. FM 4996 approval provides a measure of confidence that a plastic fire retardant pallet will deliver fire protection as good as, or better, than its wooden counterparts. Ensure to pick the right material to comply with industry regulations and standards.
If you’re unsure about complying with regulations in your industry, we’re here to help! Our plastic pallet experts would be happy to discuss.
We said we would ease your decision-making ability regarding pallets and provide you with some relief. We hope this article has given you insight into the various material choices available for pallets and their unique advantages, challenges, and uses.
If your mind is made up about plastic pallets, contact Polymer Solutions International Inc. We would love to assist you in your future pallet needs!
