Skip common site navigation and headers
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines
Recent Additions | Contact Us | Print Version Search:
Begin Hierarchical Links EPA Home > Wastes > Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines > Products > Pallets End Hierarchical Links

 

Miscellaneous Products: illustration showing binders, plaques, signs, pallets, drums, and other productsPallets

Pallets are rigid platforms made of wood, plastic, or paperboard used for shipping a variety of products including food, paper, and military supplies. Wooden pallets can be repaired or rebuilt with wood from old pallets. Plastic and corrugated pallets can be manufactured from recovered materials.

Recommended Recovered Materials Content Ranges:

EPA's RMAN recommends recycled-content levels for purchasing pallets as shown in the table below.

EPA's Recommended Recovered Materials Content Levels for Pallets Containing Recovered Wood, Plastic, or Paperboard ¹

Product Material Postconsumer Content (%)
Wooden pallets Wood 95-100
Plastic pallets
Plastic lumber Plastic 100
Thermoformed

Plastic

25-50
Paperboard pallets Paperboard 50

¹ EPA�s recommendation does not preclude a procuring agency from purchasing pallets manufactured from another material. It simply requires that a procuring agency, when purchasing pallets made from wood, plastic, or paperboard, purchase these items made with recovered materials when these items meet applicable specifications and performance requirements.


Product Specifications:

EPA recommends that procuring agencies use the following specifications when procuring pallets:

  • The Grocery Manufacturers of America issued a widely used standard for 48 by 40-inch stringer pallets known as the �GMA spec.� A copy of this specification is available from the RCRA Hotline at 800 424-9346.

  • The National Wooden Pallet and Container Association (NWPCA) is developing a standard through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for repairable 48 by 40-inch lumber-deck pallets. Contact NWPCA at 703 527-7667 for current information about the availability of this standard.

  • U.S. Postal Service (USPS) specification USPS-P-1108, �Pallet, Nestable, Plastic, Thermoformed (Item No. 3919B)� is for thermoformed HDPE pallets. A copy of the current version, USPS-P-1108E, is available from the RCRA Hotline at 800 424-9346.


Product Information:

Database of Manufacturers and Suppliers
This database identifies manufacturers and suppliers of pallets containing reused or recovered materials.


Additional Links:

2004 Buy-Recycled Series: Miscellaneous Products
Adobe Acrobat PDF file (132 KB)
This fact sheet highlights miscellaneous products designated in the CPG, including pallets, and includes case studies, recommended recovered-content levels, and a list of resources.

Technical Background Document
This background document includes EPA�s product research on reused and recovered-content pallets as well as a more detailed overview of the history and regulatory requirements of the CPG process.

Get Adobe Acrobat Some of the documents provided by EPA are Adobe Acrobat PDF (Portable Document Format) files. For more information about PDFs, visit the About PDF page.

 
 
Begin Site Footer

EPA Home | Privacy and Security Notice | Contact Us