The logistical industry in the U.S., and even across the globe, has always debated about the use of plastic pallet containers versus the use of wooden ones. Both have value of course, but does one have to win? Many people argue that traditional wood, which is many people’s favorite, has always been more cost effective and safer for the environment. By the time it has consumed its shelf life; it is biodegradable and can easily be degraded by the Earth’s soil.

Why not wood?
Many people also contest this fact. Wood, though biodegradable, would entail logging of trees. After all, where would the wood come from if not from trees? And we all know that with the Earth striving to become greener, logging activities have already been banned in many places all around the world. Since this is the case, where would pallet container companies source out their materials lest they resort to illegal logging themselves?

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Furthermore, wooden pallets when used to transport meat and other decaying goods, has to be discarded to avoid the spread of disease. But with its decomposition going at a very slow rate, discarding them have become a problem too. With the supply of wood decreasing, prices of wood pallet containers have skyrocketed. Doesn’t this easily go against their reasoning of being more cost effective?

A person can put this into an even better perspective when visiting the great forests of the world first hand and seeing for themselves how long it takes to make a great Sequoia or other natural wonder of our planet.

Why plastic?
Plastic pallets are much cheaper. They last longer, are more durable, are easier to clean and sanitize, can withstand various pressure, temperature and other conditions. They can be recycled to different things over and over again (including construction of houses and buildings), cost less to maintain due to its characteristic durability, and therefore are more economical and effective. Aren’t these reasons enough to consider wooden pallet containers obsolete?

What is your stand?
These concerns have actually placed the use of wooden pallets under extreme scrutiny. And the most highlighted of all concerns have been the decreasing number of timber in our forests. If wooden pallets will continue its production, more and more trees will be taken out of our precious forests. These forests are the ones that help prevent soil erosion, flooding, and even help stabilize the climate. It is an environmental issue, one that is not supposed to be neglected.

With the continued production and use of plastic pallets, forests may be saved, diseases may be prevented from occurring, and people will find means to a cheaper storage alternative. Continue supporting plastic pallet containers and avoid the use of wooden ones. This will help in the advocacy in helping save the environment, one plastic pallet container at a time.

The good aspects of plastic pallets are that they are durable and can be used many times; they can have the company name or logo pressed into the plastic form to keep them from being used by another manufacturer or stolen. Another way to identify pallets is having certain colors placed in the stripes of the pallet, and then the worker will know which pallets to take back. When finished the pallets can be recycled and turned into another useful product. There are accessories that can aide in the safety and use of the pallets.

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The toughest side effect of using plastic pallets are the products sliding off the pallet and possibly hurting someone. Since this is a safety issue, we will focus on ways to make the pallets safe for the workers using them. The accessories that come with the pallets are what keep the products from slipping off. Here are a few types that were found.

Grommets can be placed in predetermined areas to stabilize a load and to keep the load from shifting off of the pallet. The grommets are made of a non skid material to hold the products set on the pallet in place. There are also anti-skid disks that are available to keep loads from sliding around on the pallet.

Seatbelt assemblies are another safety accessory for the pallets, the seatbelt attaches to the pallet and top cap to secure the loads placed on the pallet. The seatbelt is pulled tight to keep any products from sliding or shifting.
Pallets that contain a diamond pattern on top are a non skid surface that keeps the products from skidding, allowing the load to be safely transported.

There are also deck inserts that can easily be snapped into the pallet to cover the leg hole openings. When lifting the pallets with a forklift, the covers will keep the forklift from getting caught and overturning the load and causing possible injuries and destroying the product on the pallet.

Plastic divider sheets and pallet slip sheets can be placed between the pallets to keep the load secure. These dividers are reusable so they can also cut costs and waste. Fiberboard dividers are not reusable and cannot be recycled which causes more garbage in our landfills. The plastic dividers can be recycled when they are no longer needed.

Plastic pallets can be safe and is an economical answer to transporting goods. Using the accessories and common sense can keep workers and the products safe when using them as part of your plastic storage system solution.