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Pallet recycling
What actually happens to a pallet after it leaves your site.
Reused, repaired, recycled or disposed of, in that order, because that is the order that keeps timber in service and keeps money off your waste bill. You get the count and the split for your own reporting.
Or call Jayden on 0494 820 639, 7am to 5pm weekdays.
Quick answer
What happens to pallets after they leave your site?
After a pallet leaves your site, four things can happen to it, in this order: it is reused as it is, repaired then reused, recycled, or disposed of. The first two are worth money to you and the last two cost money, which is why a clean standard 1165 pallet is worth paying for. You get the count and the split for your own reporting.
The order it happens in
Which pallets get reused, repaired, recycled or disposed of?
Most businesses use recycling to mean everything that is not landfill. The distinction matters because the first two outcomes are worth money to you and the last two cost money.
- 01Reused as it isThe pallet still carries its rated load, so it goes straight back into service with nothing done to it. This is where most of a good lot ends up and it is the reason a clean standard 1165 is worth paying for.
- 02Repaired, then reusedA cracked or missing board is replaced with timber recovered from pallets that could not be saved, and it goes back into service. These are the repairable cores, and they are credited against a clearance rather than charged for.
- 03Broken down for timberWhat cannot be repaired comes apart. Sound lengths are kept for repairs, the rest is chipped for landscaping mulch, animal bedding, particleboard feedstock or biomass fuel. Nails and steel go to scrap.
- 04Disposed ofThe last resort and the only one with a straight cost. Treated, contaminated or chemically affected timber cannot go into any of the streams above and has to be handled properly.
Why it matters commercially
What is the cheapest way to deal with pallet waste?
Pallets are mostly air, so a skip charges you for the gaps. A business putting a skip out for timber is usually paying twice: once for the bin, and once for the stock it threw away. Reusable pallets in that bin were worth $2 to $3 each.
The split also matters for anyone who has to report. If you are asked for a diversion rate and the honest answer is that the pallets went in a skip, that is a number you have to write down.
- Reusable stock is bought, not taken
- Repairable cores credited against the clearance
- Timber chipped rather than tipped wherever it can be
- Nails and steel separated to scrap
- Counted and split so the figure in your report is a real one
Getting a number
Ask for the split when you book.
The count collected, what went back into service, what was repaired, what was broken down, and the diversion rate those numbers produce. It costs nothing and most operators will not give it to you because they do not count it that way.
Questions about pallet recycling
Where can I recycle pallets?
Through any pallet recycler that will take the grade you have, which for most businesses means the same operator that collects them. We collect across Greater Sydney, Wollongong, the Central Coast, Newcastle, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Send photos, a count and the suburb and you get an answer the same business day.
Is recycling a pallet the same as reusing it?
No, and the difference is most of the value. A pallet that still carries a load goes straight back into service with nothing done to it. One with a cracked board gets that board replaced and then goes back into service. Only what cannot be repaired gets broken down into timber. Most of what people call recycling is actually the first two.
What happens to a pallet that cannot be repaired?
It comes apart. Sound lengths are kept for repairs on other pallets, the rest is chipped for landscaping mulch, animal bedding, particleboard feedstock or biomass fuel depending on the timber and who is buying it that month. Nails and steel are separated out and go to scrap.
Do you charge to recycle pallets?
It depends what is in the lot, and you will know before anything is booked. Reusable stock is bought from you. Collections of 60 or more reusable pallets in Greater Sydney are free. Broken timber and unknown mixed lots are cleared at a quoted price, because somebody has to pay for the vehicle and the processing and the pallets in that lot will not.
Can I get a figure for my waste reporting?
Yes. Ask for it when you book. You get the count collected, the split between what went back into service, what was repaired and what was broken down, and the diversion rate that falls out of those numbers. Most operators will not give you that because they do not count it that way.
Do you recycle CHEP or Loscam pallets?
No. Pooled pallets belong to the pool and go back to it. Putting one through a recycler is somebody else's equipment and somebody else's problem. Tell the pool to collect its own and we will take everything that is not pooled.
What about plastic pallets?
Collected on the same pickup. Sound ones are resold, damaged ones go to plastics reprocessing rather than landfill. Tell us roughly how many and whether they are nestable or rackable, because that changes who wants them.
Is it cheaper to recycle or to throw them in a skip?
A skip charges you by volume and pallets are mostly air, so a skip is usually the most expensive way to move timber that someone else would pay you for. Worth doing the sum before the next bin goes out.
Prefer to talk? Call Jayden on 0494 820 639. Want to know what a lot is worth first? Four questions and you will know.
Pallets supplied and delivered Australia wide, with the deepest coverage in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Central Coast. Not sure what you have got? Then measure it and we will name it. Clearing pallets instead? You can get an instant offer. Working out a budget? See what pallets cost, or hiring against buying. Getting rid of them? what happens to them after.
Related questions
- Which pallet do I need for export?
- Which pallet size and grade do I need?
- How do I sell surplus pallets?
- How many pallets fit on a truck?
Page updated 16 October 2026. Facts on this page are kept in step with the facts page; terms are explained in the glossary; the suburbs we stop at are on the areas page. Written by the team at 360 Operations Group, Prestons NSW; follow 360 on LinkedIn.