Buy used plastic pallets near me
To buy used plastic pallets near you, give a ZIP and a footprint and let the lot be matched, rather than driving between yards for something that turns out to be wood. Plastic lots here are described before they move.
- You give
- ZIP and footprint
- We give
- A written lot
- Wood or plastic
- Plastic only
- Racking
- Only with a rating
A buyer's order of questions
A buyer who has been burned once asks the same few questions in the same order. We answer them in the lot description so the call is short.
- Is it plastic, and which resin?
- What footprint is it, measured?
- Is the deck open or closed, and is the entry four-way?
- What does the wear show, and what is welded or swapped?
- Does it carry any owner's name, logo or tag?
- Is there a rating on the deck plate for static, dynamic and racking loads?
Why plastic buyers shop by footprint
Wood pallets are forgiving: a nail, a board, a repair, and the pallet is back in the loop. Plastic is hard to glue, so cracked parts are normally welded, and some designs use snap-lock parts for quick repair. That makes the footprint and the repair history part of what you are buying.
The 48 x 40 GMA pallet is where most lots start. Chemical shippers look at 48 x 48 and 45 x 45, bulk-bag users at 43 x 43, and automotive plants at 48 x 45, which matches heavy-duty auto parts bulk containers.
What nearby does not change
A short drive does not make a pallet rackable, food safe or ours to sell. Those things stay true wherever the lot sits: the rating, the papers and the ownership are on or with the pallet.
| Question | Where the answer is |
|---|---|
| Rack rating | On the deck plate or from the maker |
| Food or pharma suitability | In the maker's resin and colourant papers |
| Who owns it | Any pool mark, logo or RFID tag on the pallet |
| Grade | In our lot description, from the wear |
Before you drive to look
A used lot is rarely viewed in person, and a long drive to see a pallet is seldom worth it. Ask for the lot to be described in writing, with the footprint, the grade, the number of makers and any marks, and ask for photographs of the corners and runners. If a viewing is important, say so on the request and give your ZIP, so the reply can say whether a lot is near enough to see.
Questions for a local lot
Ask whether the lot is on site, whether it can be viewed, who loads it and what the loading equipment is. A lot that is local on paper but must be dug out of a yard stack can take days to ready. The more precisely you ask, the more realistic the reply.
Safe handling at the stack
- Lift with the tines fully under the load and tilt back slightly before travelling.
- Never climb a stack, and never stand beside one while it is being moved.
- Take a damaged pallet out of service at once and tag it, so nobody reloads it.
- Keep stack heights even and edges square, since a leaning stack feeds on itself.
- Match tine length to the pallet, because short tines can crack the underside of a deck.
Training the dock crew
- Show new staff three pallets: one acceptable, one marginal, one rejected.
- Agree on words for faults, such as crack, gouge, bow and dish, and use them.
- Tell people to stop and ask when a pallet carries any mark they do not recognise.
- Remind drivers to enter pockets squarely, since angled entry splits the pocket wall.
- Walk the dock together once a month and compare notes.
Walk-around checklist
The same four stops for every lot, in order. Tick each as you go.
- 1Deck seated flat with no cracks to the edge
- 2Corner gouges are surface scuffs
- 3Runner ends are not split
- 4Fork pockets clear on all four sides if 4-way entry was asked for
- Resin and colour noted for each pallet
- Any tag, logo or name recorded
Words used on this page
- 4-way entry
- Forks or a jack can enter from all four sides.
- Rackable
- Rated to sit on rack beams, with a stated racking load.
- RFID
- Radio tag moulded or fixed into a pallet so it can be tracked.
- Welding repair
- Plastic is hard to glue, so cracked parts are normally welded.
- Dynamic load
- Weight a pallet carries while moving on a forklift, pallet jack or conveyor.
What the sources say
- 48 x 48 plastic pallets hold four 55-gallon drums without overhang; 48 x 45 matches North American auto parts bulk containers. nelsoncompany.com
- Rehrig Pacific's rackable pallet has a two-piece snap-lock design for quick repair and options for FDA-approved colours, RFID and up to 15 percent black recycled content. rehrigpacific.com
- Plastic pallets can deform (creep) under heavy long-term loads and are hard to repair. en.wikipedia.org
- Rehrig Pacific's 40 x 48 rackable pallet weighs 44.2 lb with a dynamic rating of 4,000 lb, static 10,000 lb and edge rack 2,000 lb. rehrigpacific.com
How a request works
- Pick the footprint, then the grade you can live with.
- Say what the pallets will carry and how many you need.
- Read the written lot description that comes back.
- Agree the lot before anything moves.
The four grades, in a line each
- Like new. A few trips only. Clean, no cracks, no missing parts, deck and runners flat.
- Used and clean. Many trips, scuffs and colour variation, but whole and usable for general-purpose or closed-loop work.
- Repaired. A cracked or chipped part welded or swapped. Some designs use snap-lock parts for repair.
- Mixed lot. Mixed makers, colours and sizes sold by the truckload, sorted by footprint.
Questions people ask
Can I pick up myself?
How a lot reaches you is settled when the lot is matched. State your preference in the request.
Do you buy pallets as well?
This desk is for buyers of used pallets. Sellers have their own sites in the same group.
Is 43 x 43 a common size?
It is designed for bulk bags and is called an Asian standard, so it turns up for bag work rather than general shipping.
Ask for a lot
Pick a footprint and a grade. The reply describes a matched lot in writing.