Sorting damage by what it costs
| Damage | Repairable? | How |
|---|---|---|
| One cracked deck board | Yes | Replace the board |
| Cracked stringer, rest sound | Yes | Add a plug or companion stringer |
| Split blocks | Sometimes | Rebuild the pallet |
| Rot, mold or many breaks | No | Grind |
| Fire or chemical damage | No | Disposal route only |
A plug is a short board between 6 and 24 inches long nailed beside a cracked stringer. A companion stringer is a full-length board fixed alongside the damaged one and is the stronger repair.
What happens to the rest
Wood beyond repair can be chipped for mulch, composite products or biomass, according to Racklify's description of a core pallet. That is a cheaper end for a pile than a landfill, but only if the wood is untreated by chemicals and free of trash.
Writing a broken-pallet request
- How many, and how broken: all of them, or a fraction.
- Whether any are dry and whole enough to keep.
- Whether foreign material such as shrink wrap is mixed in.
- Whether any are stamped, since that tells you a lot about their history.
Prevent the next pile
Pallets break when forks hit stringers and when stacks sit outside. If your dock produces broken stock weekly, read the grade guide to see which damage matters, and the storage guide. For sound stock instead, use pallet removal.
Ask for a pickup with the count and condition.
Before you toss them
A pallet that looks broken may have a single cracked board. Take a minute to sort the obviously repairable from the hopeless, because the first group has resale value as a core and the second does not. If the pile is large, sort by eye and photograph both.
- Pull pallets with only a deck-board crack.
- Set aside pallets with a split stringer.
- Bag loose boards and nails separately.
- Never burn treated or painted wood.
Safety on the pile
Broken pallets have exposed nails. Wear gloves and boots, avoid climbing a stack and pull from the top down. A small tidy pile is safer for everyone, including whoever comes to take it.
When broken is a safety matter
Broken pallets with nails sticking out are an injury waiting to happen, in the yard and in transit. If you are dealing with a large pile, store it away from walkways and fence it off. A tidy pile of broken stock is easier to quote, easier to load and safer to handle than a scattered one.
- Fence or mark the pile.
- Keep it away from walkways.
- Use gloves and boots when sorting.
- Pull nails from loose boards if they will be reused.