Can plastic pallets be repaired?

Plastic pallets can be repaired, sometimes, by welding a crack or swapping a part, but repair is generally harder than with wood. Whether a given pallet should be repaired depends on where it is cracked and what it will carry.

Request a lot All guides

Can be repaired?: Sometimes
Methods: Welding, component replacement
Easier on: Snap-lock designs
Not for: Racking after repair

The short answer in a table

Damage	Repairable?	Notes
Crack in the deck middle	Often	Weld; floor-level use
Chipped corner	Sometimes	Cosmetic fill; watch for cracks
Cracked leg	Sometimes	Weld or swap; no racking
Split runner	Rarely	Runners carry floor load
Crushed pocket	Rarely	Shape is lost
Burnt or melted	No	Scrap for regrind

Repair against replace

A reconditioning guide says plastic pallets may be repaired by welding or component replacement. A maker's rackable pallet has a two-piece snap-lock design for quick repair. These show that repair is designed in for some pallets and left to chance on others.

Broken beyond repair

A pallet that is cracked, burnt, crushed or missing decks is sold by weight to recyclers who grind it into regrind. One pallet maker says damaged plastic pallets from a buy-back program are among its feedstock. That is the end of the line for a pallet, and it is a respectable one.

Repair if the damage is local and the pallet is otherwise sound
Replace a part if the design allows
Recycle if the pallet is broken

What can and cannot be mended

Surface cracks, chipped corners and a broken leg can often be mended. A bowed deck, a torn fork pocket or a split along the main ribs usually cannot. If a pallet has lost material at a load point, the repair may restore the shape without restoring the strength. A repaired pallet belongs in a repaired grade, and it should be sold as one.

Deciding at the yard

At the yard, sort in three piles: whole, mendable and scrap. Whole pallets go to the buyer. Mendable ones go to repair if the repair costs less in time than the pallet is worth. Scrap goes to a recycler by weight, ideally separated by resin and colour. The middle pile is where most disagreements start, so write down a rule, for example no repair within the fork pocket, and keep to it.

On the receiving dock

Count stacks before pallets, then count the pallets in two stacks to confirm the tally.
Lay a tape across the deck and along the runners of three pallets from different stacks.
Look for pooled marks, bar codes and moulded owner names before anything is put away.
Sign for the count and note any shortfall on the delivery receipt in the driver's presence.
Photograph the stacks from both ends while the trailer doors are still open.

Paperwork to keep

The written lot description and the date it was sent.
Your own count, signed and dated by whoever received the load.
Photographs of stacks, plates and any marks, stored with the order number.
The maker's papers for resin, colour or rating, where the job needs them.
A line naming who agreed to which exceptions, so a later dispute has a record.

Walk-around checklist

The same four stops for every lot, in order. Tick each as you go.

1Deck: cracks mapped
2Corners: chips assessed
3Runners: runner damage assessed
4Fork pockets: pocket damage assessed
Decision recorded: repair, swap or scrap

Words used on this page

Fork pocket: Opening in the pallet where the forks go.
Regrind: Plastic ground from used or scrap parts into flakes for moulding again.
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.
Rackable: Rated to sit on rack beams, with a stated racking load.

What the sources say

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
HDPE has resin identification code 2, a density of 930 to 970 kg/m3, melts at 131.8 C and is hard to glue, so joints are usually welded. en.wikipedia.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
Static capacity is the highest of the three ratings; racking is often the lowest; dynamic is always lower than static. 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.

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