Yes, some damaged plastic pallets can be repaired, but it depends on the pallet design, the location and extent of the damage, and whether the manufacturer provides an approved repair method. Some reusable plastic pallets have replaceable components or established repair procedures. Others should be removed from service and recycled rather than repaired.
One of the selling points for wood pallets is repairability. A broken deck board can be replaced, a damaged stringer can sometimes be repaired, and a pallet recycler can return a badly battered pallet to useful service for considerably less than the cost of a new one. For more on that process, see Can a Broken Wood Pallet Be Repaired and Safely Reused?
Plastic pallets are different, but a damaged plastic pallet can sometimes be repaired. Whether it should be repaired depends heavily on the pallet design, the type and location of the damage and the repair process approved by the manufacturer. The bottom line is that some plastic pallets are specifically engineered for repair. Others effectively are not.
Start with the pallet design
Plastic pallets range from inexpensive one-way export pallets to heavy-duty reusable platforms designed to make hundreds of trips. It wouldn’t make economic sense to apply the same repair strategy to both. If you’re comparing different pallet designs and applications more broadly, see What Are the Different Types of Pallets and What Are Their Uses?
Some reusable designs incorporate replaceable runners, deck components or connectors. ORBIS, for example, markets a heavy-duty BulkPal with a snap-fit design specifically intended to permit on-site repair. The company also operates repair services for plastic pallets and other reusable packaging, with repairs performed according to manufacturer-recommended processes.
That is quite different from assuming that any cracked plastic pallet can simply be welded back together.
Location of the damage matters
A damaged runner, cracked deck, broken corner or damaged fork-entry area can affect how the load weight is transferred through the pallet. The consequences become particularly important when the pallet will be used in unsupported pallet racking, conveyors or automated storage and retrieval systems. A repair that appears adequate on the warehouse floor may behave differently under a concentrated rack load.
Before returning a repaired plastic pallet to service, the question therefore isn’t simply whether the crack has disappeared. The repair needs to restore the performance required for the application. Our guide to how much weight a pallet can hold explains why floor, forklift and edge-rack support conditions can place very different demands on a pallet.
Don’t improvise structural repairs
Plastic welding and other repair techniques are available, but that doesn’t mean every repair is appropriate for every pallet resin or design. An improvised patch may also affect dimensions or create protrusions that interfere with conveyors and automated equipment.
For a proprietary or rental pool pallet, the decision may not belong to the user at all. Damaged rental pallets should normally be segregated and handled according to the rental pool operator’s procedures. If CHEP, PECO or iGPS pallets have accumulated at your facility, see What Should I Do With CHEP, PECO or iGPS Pallets?
Before you repair or replace, check these
- Identify the manufacturer and model; the mark or part number is usually molded into the pallet.
- Ask the manufacturer or vendor whether an approved repair process or replacement components exist for that model.
- Note exactly where the damage is, such as the deck, runner, corner or fork entry, and how the pallet is used, including floor storage, racking or automation.
- If the pallet is rented, contact the rental pool operator instead of repairing it yourself.
- If no approved repair exists, weigh recycling the pallet against the risk of an unapproved fix.
Where the pallet is owned by your company, identify the manufacturer and pallet model and check whether an approved repair procedure or replacement components are available. If they aren’t, recycling the damaged pallet may be the better choice.
Plastic pallets can be repairable. The important question is whether that particular pallet was designed to be repaired and whether the repair restores the performance you depend on.
Find answers to more pallet-related questions at our Pallet Problems hub.
Rick LeBlanc, EMBA, is the founder and editor of Reusable Packaging News (subscribe to the free newsletter) and editor of Western Pallet Magazine. A supply chain journalist with more than 30 years of experience, he specializes in pallets, reusable packaging, material handling and related operations. Rick is co-author of Pallets: A North American Perspective and Pallets & Progress: A Collected History of Pallets and Palletized Handling 1922–1945. He is also an advisory board member of the Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design. Read Rick’s full bio.
