Used plastic pallets: common questions
Questions people ask before buying used plastic pallets: grades, repairs, ratings, ISPM 15, food use, pool marks, trucks and how to request a lot. Each answer is short and each links to a page that goes further.
- Questions
- 20
- Topics
- Grades, ratings, export, food, ownership
- Sources
- Listed on each guide
- Checked
- 12 November 2026
Before you read the answers
Where a number appears below it comes from a maker's page, a standard or an agency, and the page it links to names the source. Nothing here is engineering advice. The pallet's maker and your building's engineer decide what is safe for your load.
Walk-around checklist
The same four stops for every lot, in order. Tick each as you go.
- 1Deck: footprint first
- 2Corners: grade second
- 3Runners: rating on the plate
- 4Fork pockets: marks photographed
Words used on this page
- Nestable
- Empty pallets stack inside one another, cutting empty storage space by up to 75 percent.
- Dynamic load
- Weight a pallet carries while moving on a forklift, pallet jack or conveyor.
- GMA pallet
- The 48 x 40 in North American standard footprint.
- Regrind
- Plastic ground from used or scrap parts into flakes for moulding again.
- ISPM 15
- The international standard for treating wood packaging against pests. Plastic pallets are outside it.
What the sources say
- In April 2017, HDPE HMW regrind from drums and IBCs was 24 to 27 cents per pound picked up in the US South (historical, not current). resource-recycling.com
- Static capacity is the highest of the three ratings; racking is often the lowest; dynamic is always lower than static. nelsoncompany.com
- USDA APHIS lists plastic pallets among products not subject to APHIS regulation, as an alternative to wood packaging material. aphis.usda.gov
- HDPE is the most common resin in plastic pallets; PP is more rigid and the page recommends it for unsupported racking. nelsoncompany.com
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.
Plastic or wood pallets: which is better?
Wood costs the least up front. Plastic is easier to sanitise, lighter than wood and splinter free, often lasting 100 trips or more, but it can cost about ten times as much and is hard to repair.
How much weight can a plastic pallet hold?
It depends on the model and the rating. Static is highest, dynamic lower, rack lowest. A 48x40 nestable example is 10,000 lb static and 3,000 lb dynamic; a rackable one adds a 2,000 lb edge rack rating.
What is the difference between static, dynamic and racking capacity?
Static is weight at rest, dynamic is weight while moving, racking is weight on unsupported rack beams. Ratings assume an evenly spread load.
Can I put plastic pallets on racking?
Only if the model has a racking rating. Nestable and lighter export pallets are generally not rated for racking.
Are plastic pallets recyclable?
HDPE carries resin code 2 and is commonly recycled. A resin code alone does not say whether a given item is recyclable.
Can broken plastic pallets be recycled?
Yes. Greystone, a pallet maker, says it gets feedstock from damaged plastic pallets through a buy-back program, among other sources.
What are scrap plastic pallets worth?
Prices follow the regrind market and change often. As one dated data point, April 2017 HDPE regrind from drums and IBCs was 24 to 27 cents per pound picked up in the US South. Ask a recycler for today's price.
Do plastic pallets need fire protection or a fire rating?
Sprinkler rules treat listed pallets (FM 4996 or UL 2335) like wood. Unlisted plastic pallets can raise the commodity classification.
Can plastic pallets be used for food?
Many can touch packaged food. For direct contact, rules may call for non-blended virgin HDPE; ask the maker for resin and colour paperwork.
Can I sell pooled pallets with another company's name on them?
Not without checking ownership. Pool-marked pallets may belong to the pool operator; California law lets a recycler take possession of stray proprietary pallets only if the owner cannot be identified or fails to retrieve them in time.
What is a used plastic pallet grade?
There is no plastic standard. This site uses four working grades: like new, used and clean, repaired and mixed lot, each defined on the grades pages.
How many pallets are on a truckload?
It depends on the pallet. One supplier gets 30 stacks of 48 x 40 pallets in a turned pattern on a 53 ft dry van, and nestable models stack more per truck.
Do you sell pallets by the pallet?
The site is written for pallet-load and truckload buyers. A request says the quantity band.
Why are there no prices?
Prices depend on the lot, and none is published on this site.
Can you ship to my state?
Name your ZIP on the request. The reply says how a lot would reach you.
What if my pallets are marked with another company's name?
Do not sell them until you check. They may belong to the pool operator.
Which size should I start with?
48 x 40 inches is the GMA standard and most requests begin there.
Can I request a size you do not list?
Choose Other on the form and write the size in millimetres or inches.
Who answers a request?
A person reads it and replies by email.
Ask for a lot
Pick a footprint and a grade. The reply describes a matched lot in writing.