A huge number of pallets pass through logistics companies every year. The pallet on top of the pallet is one of the basic units of logistics.
Some of the pallets are used for warehouse, while some of the wooden pallets and the products loaded onto them flow around the world. The pallet must be able to withstand wear and tear, handling, lifting, heavy and angular products.
However, a wooden pallet will not last from time to eternity without being damaged.
What used to be waste is now euros
Vesa Rinne, Transval's development director, says that a decade ago damaged pallets were still classified as waste and were sent as wood waste for incineration and thus as a source of energy.
The first starting point for the rehabilitation of damaged pallets was economy and responsibility. The idea was to prevent and reuse waste, but also to save euros.
Now, according to Rinne, the drive to recycle pallets is driven not only by sustainability, but also by the availability of wood materials and the rising price of wood and sawn timber. There is no single factor behind the changes in price and demand in the lumber market, there are several reasons.
Demand continues to grow and at the same time timber availability has deteriorated. Availability is affected by factors such as low buffer stocks, global pest damage and storm damage. During the corona pandemic in the US, some sawmills were closed down. At the same time, timber exports from European countries to the US have increased significantly.
In Finland and Europe, Rinne says, wood construction and renovation has increased both because of the pandemic and because of changing environmental values. All of these affect the availability and price of timber and lumber.
A load platform with a wood waste pallet is a loss of euros
A damaged pallet no longer ends up as waste, but continues its life after repair. Damaged pallets are sold to companies that refurbish them. The broken parts of the pallets are dismantled and replaced by nailed-in parts. All intact and usable parts are recycled.
It's a simple operation that saves wood and euros and prevents the generation of wood waste. If a damaged pallet is spotted on a wood waste pallet somewhere, you can think about how many euros are thrown directly into the waste.
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