Used plastic pallets and ISPM 15
ISPM 15 is the international standard for treating wood packaging against pests, and plastic pallets are outside it. A used plastic pallet therefore needs no heat-treatment mark to go on a container.
- Applies to
- Wood packaging material
- Heat treatment
- Core at 56 C for at least 30 minutes
- Plastic
- Exempt
- Steel, aluminum, engineered wood
- Also exempt
What the standard does
Wood packaging material entering the US must be treated and certified per ISPM 15. For heat treatment the wood must reach a core temperature of 56 C for at least 30 minutes. The point is to stop pests travelling in raw wood. Plastic carries none, so it is outside the rule.
Who says plastic is exempt
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| USDA APHIS | Lists plastic pallets among products not subject to APHIS regulation, as an alternative to wood packaging material |
| A maker's product page | Lists a nestable, stackable, rackable polypropylene 48 x 40 pallet as ISPM 15 exempt |
| A pallet encyclopedia | Steel, aluminum, plastic and engineered-wood pallets are exempt from ISPM 15 |
| A plastic export pallet maker | Plastic export pallets are exempt from ISPM-15 treatment |
What exempt does not mean
Exempt from ISPM 15 is not exempt from everything. A destination may have its own rules for packaging, for cleanliness, or for what a pallet carried earlier. Check the destination, and tell us where the lot goes, so the lot description includes the cleanliness details a customs agent may ask for.
- No heat-treatment mark is needed for plastic
- A destination may have other rules
- A clean, dry, undamaged pallet is easier to clear
Why plastic is outside ISPM 15
ISPM 15 is about wood. It regulates wood packaging because wood can carry pests, and it requires heat treatment or fumigation and a stamp. Plastic carries no such risk, so the standard does not apply, and a used plastic lot can go on a container without treatment. Receivers may still have their own rules, so confirm with the consignee, and keep any paperwork that shows the pallets are plastic.
Where wood still appears
A lot of plastic pallets can still collide with ISPM 15 if wood sneaks into the load: dunnage, crates, blocking or a stray wood pallet in the stack. Inspect the load and strip or replace anything made of wood unless it is stamped. A single unstamped board can hold a shipment at a port, even when every pallet is plastic.
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: clean and dry
- 2Corners: no wood parts or inserts
- 3Runners: runners free of soil
- 4Fork pockets: pockets free of residue
- Destination checked for its own rules
Words used on this page
- ISPM 15
- The international standard for treating wood packaging against pests. Plastic pallets are outside it.
- Rackable
- Rated to sit on rack beams, with a stated racking load.
- Runners
- Bottom rails that touch the floor or rack and carry the load.
- Heat treated (HT)
- ISPM 15 treatment for wood: core at 56 C for 30 minutes. Not needed for plastic.
- PP
- Polypropylene. More rigid than HDPE and better with heat and harsh chemicals; used where rack stiffness matters.
What the sources say
- NFPA requires wood and plastic pallets to be stored outdoors or in a detached structure unless sprinklers protect them. en.wikipedia.org
- The International Fire Code permits pallets listed and labeled under FM 4996 or UL 2335 to be treated as wood pallets for sprinkler design. iccsafe.org
- Greystone Logistics processed about 60 million pounds of recycled plastic in the year ended May 31, 2024, using damaged plastic pallets from a buy-back program among its feedstock. resource-recycling.com
- Plastic pallets weigh about 3 to 15 lb when light and up to 300 lb when heavy; a typical GMA wood pallet weighs about 37 lb. en.wikipedia.org
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
Are plastic pallets exempt from ISPM 15?
Yes. The USDA lists plastic pallets among products not subject to its wood packaging regulation, so no heat-treatment mark is needed.
Does a plastic pallet with wood parts count?
Wood parts are wood packaging material. Ask for an all-plastic pallet.
Is the exemption only for the US?
This page cites the US rule. Check the importing country's rule for the destination.
Ask for a lot
Pick a footprint and a grade. The reply describes a matched lot in writing.