Refurbished plastic pallets
Refurbished plastic pallets are used pallets that have been cleaned and brought back to working order, usually by welding a crack or replacing a part. The word promises effort, so we ask what was done and how many pallets it covers.
- Means
- Brought back to working order
- Repair methods
- Welding, part replacement
- Our grades
- Like new to repaired
- Papers
- Ask the refurbisher
Refurbished versus new
A refurbished pallet is a used pallet that has been brought up to the standard its previous owner stopped caring about. Plastic pallets last a long time and are often described as lasting 100 trips or more. A refurbished one has used some of those trips, and the repairs were done where the damage was.
Cleaning, checking, fixing
| Stage | What it covers | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Clean | Wash or wipe off dirt and residue | What was washed with, and whether residue remains |
| Check | Look at deck, corners, runners and pockets | A count of pallets rejected |
| Fix | Weld cracks, swap broken parts | A count of welds and swaps |
| Sort | Group by footprint and condition | The grade words used |
What refurbished does not settle
It does not settle the rating, the resin or the pallet's history. A refurbished pallet is still only as rated as its maker says. Capacities assume an evenly distributed load, and they come from the maker's calculation and tests.
- Rating: from the maker
- Food contact: from maker papers
- Ownership: from marks on the pallet
Refurbished and the paper trail
Refurbished pallets suggest a process, and a process leaves records. Ask whether the seller has a written description of what was done to the lot and whether it was done to every pallet or to a sample. Where a pallet was repaired with a snap-lock part, ask the maker whether that repair keeps the rating. For many designs it does not, and the grade should say so in plain words.
Describing the work, not the word
Refurbished can mean as little as a power wash. Ask which operations were done, in what order and with which materials. Cleaning, inspection, sorting, repair and relabelling are separate steps, and a seller who did all five can say so in a sentence each. A seller who did one may still be honest, so long as the description names it.
A fair description of refurbishment
Look for four lines in a seller's description: what was inspected, what was cleaned, what was replaced, and what was rejected. A short account in those four lines is worth more than the word refurbished on its own, because it shows that someone actually handled each pallet and decided what to do with it.
Photographs worth taking
- One wide shot of each stack with a tape or a person for scale.
- The four corners of a sample pallet, close enough to show gouges.
- The underside, including the runners and the bottom of each fork pocket.
- Any plate, label, moulded number or mark, shot square on and in raking light.
- Repairs and cracks, with a coin or a ruler beside them to show size.
Comparing two lots fairly
- Use the same footprint for both, measured in the same units.
- Compare grade by wear, not by the seller's letter.
- Count makers present in each, since fewer makers means a more uniform lot.
- Compare the share of repaired pieces, and where the repairs sit.
- Set freight, timing and handling beside the wear, rather than in place of it.
Walk-around checklist
The same four stops for every lot, in order. Tick each as you go.
- 1Deck: clean and whole, repair seams located
- 2Corners: repairs at corners identified
- 3Runners: repairs at runners identified
- 4Fork pockets: repairs at pockets identified
- Refurbisher's work list
Words used on this page
- Pooling
- Renting pallets from a company that owns, tracks and collects them instead of buying.
- Fork pocket
- Opening in the pallet where the forks go.
- Welding repair
- Plastic is hard to glue, so cracked parts are normally welded.
- Runners
- Bottom rails that touch the floor or rack and carry the load.
What the sources say
- Pallet capacities are issued by the manufacturer from calculation and lab or field tests, and assume an evenly distributed load. nelsoncompany.com
- Plastic pallets are often described as lasting 100 trips or more, and can cost roughly 10 times as much as hardwood pallets. en.wikipedia.org
- Only pallets designed for unsupported racking carry a racking rating. nelsoncompany.com
- That Nelson model is under 5 in tall, which the page says suits air freight, and works with automation and most roller conveyors. nelsoncompany.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
Is refurbished the same as repaired?
Repaired is one result of refurbishing. A lot can be refurbished and graded used and clean if nothing needed welding.
How many trips are left?
Not readable. Judge by wear.
Can refurbished pallets be returned to a pool?
Not if they carry a pool owner's mark. See the pool-marked pallets guide.
Ask for a lot
Pick a footprint and a grade. The reply describes a matched lot in writing.