Pallet reuse is finally under the spotlight, and it is long overdue. Why? Simply put, reusable pallets are often more cost-effective and have a smaller environmental footprint, even after the economic and environmental costs of reverse logistics are considered.
For reusable pallets, the impact of building a new unit is prorated across the number of trips the pallet takes. While the resources required to build a heavier-duty durable pallet might be greater than those of a lightweight, expendable pallet, they are less on a per-trip basis.
But this is nothing new. We have heard similar messages many times from CHEP and other poolers. And to be fair, we have had pioneers in the pallet retrieval and management space dating back at least the early 1990s, and in recent decades, the third-party management of pallet reuse systems has continued to grow.
What’s new is that we are finally hearing strategic messaging at the pallet industry leadership level. Promoting pallets as products made from a renewable, bio-based material is no longer enough. With packaging regulations slamming Europe and scrutiny increasing domestically, it’s time to push in the chips as an industry.
In Europe, that shift at the industry level has now begun. In the UK, where packaging scrutiny is intense, kudos to the pallet industry for now highlighting the importance of reuse. The UK’s Timber Packaging & Pallet Confederation (TIMCON) said that its discussions with government agencies on implementing a reuse incentive scheme for wooden packaging have been “extremely positive.”
TIMCON President John Dye recently stated that incentivizing reuse was now a must to help maintain progress towards net zero and send positive messages to the UK public. TIMCON has collaborated with other wood-based sectors and submitted a proposal to authorities to create a Proposed Reuse Incentive Scheme. According to TIMCON, the document has two goals: to maximize the number of times wooden packaging is reused before it is ultimately recycled and to increase the use of wooden transport tools—including pallets, cases, crates, cable reels, and so on—in domestic and international supply chains. It sounds like solid stewardship and good business.
The reuse framework includes information on how reuse should be incentivized, measured, and recorded; how supply chain users can recognize a reusable pallet; how to ensure pallets are recycled at the end of their useful lives; where obligations for reuse lie; and several other recommendations.
“In our proposed Reuse Incentive Scheme, we have set out a workable framework for reusing wooden pallets and packaging and shown how this can be implemented,” Dye said. “We are strongly recommending that government progresses this straightforward, easy-to-implement initiative to support its plans to reduce greenhouse gasses by 100% by 2050.”
“Encouraging these industries will, in turn, boost demand for tree planting, provide a solid foundation for our circular economy, and make a sizable contribution to achieving the government’s 2050 targets,” he concluded.
Of course, there are some sensitive applications (and some sensitive customers) where only a new pallet will do. That can be true even for rental programs. Compliance and quality assurance issues can come into play. But if we are talking about a common size, at least those pallets can be reused in the secondary marketplace.
What can we do in North America? Can we help customers with reusable pallet programs become more successful or help them calculate their reuse program’s success? How many amazing success stories have gone untold?
What about the 48×40 market? Do we know how many trips GMA pallets truly last in the field? I would like to see more research into the actual life expectancy of GMA pallets. With pallet tracking technology becoming increasingly affordable, it shouldn’t be too daunting.
My hunch is that 48x40s make more trips than people might expect. The results might surprise us as an amazing sustainability story. And if they don’t, then it will be a huge opportunity to make the necessary design adjustments to make it one. Maybe it will be the impetus for the standards that some of us have been calling for. It is about being proactive.
Then there are markets like building materials and construction, where reuse often has not been a priority. But things are changing, especially in Europe. Take the construction industry, where several pallet providers are developing reuse programs for that sector.
In Norway, pallet reuse is quickly becoming part of the construction industry conversation, where building and construction account for 16% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. “More changes will take place on Nordic construction sites in the next five years than in the last 50,” Trond Juliussen, CEO of Smart Retur Norway, told me recently. “Waste reduction, resource preservation, reuse and cost savings are a few keywords that have led SmartRetur to partner up with leading construction companies,” he said.
In 2024, Smart Retur has started collection on all of JM Norge’s project sites, as well as at a number of construction sites for other leading construction companies. JM Norge, a subsidiary of the larger JM AB based in Sweden, is a significant player in the construction and real estate sectors in Norway. Smart Retur collects empty wooden pallets and other load carriers while working with original manufacturers to take back pallets for reuse, benefiting all parties. According to Juliussen, huge improvements can be made by offering similar sustainable and innovative industry solutions on construction sites across the Nordics.
In the UK, The Pallet Loop has been launched as a reusable pallet program for the building materials industry. The Pallet Loop is part of BSW Group, the UK’s largest integrated forestry and timber business and the parent company of Scott Pallets. The company has made a splash with recent announcements regarding the signing of major player British Gypsum as a client, not to mention the production of “tens of thousands” of pallets and ordering more than one million RFID tags for its pallets.
Meanwhile, in mainland Europe, Bonn, Germany-based Boomerang Retour has also been successfully expanding its retrieval business in the construction sector, with clients including URSA Group and Isover Saint-Gobain.
Getting back to the power of reuse, it is crucial that the pallet industry add reuse to its story. As state/country packaging and waste regulations continue to become a factor and companies strive to get to net zero, it is no longer enough to sit on our bio-based laurels. We need an industry reuse strategy and strong data to measure our progress as we collectively move forward.
