Alternative pallet materials: The ag industry doesn’t need to look far afield for sustainable pallet alternatives
Almost all companies are looking for ways to reduce their environmental impact and to become more efficient in the process. What if you could turn your harvest residuals or production scrap into your own pallets, thus eliminating the need to consume other resources needed to make pallets and have them delivered to you? This post looks at some surprising alternative pallet materials you might not have heard about.
There is growing interest in the circular economy. According to Dr. Marshall White, president of White & Company, one path forward is to explore the opportunity for pallets made from various natural constituents that are recyclable and biodegradable. Increasingly, entrepreneurs and researchers look to agricultural crops and residuals as potential pallet stock.
Alternative Pallet Materials
To take a step back, wood pallets have long dominated pallet usage, and for good reason. They are relatively inexpensive and strong, providing a viable solution for many supply chains. Plastic pallets are highly valued in several applications (and growing at a faster rate than wood), as are niche options such as presswood, paper and metal. Nevertheless, there always seems to be a new pallet guaranteed to raise eyebrows. Back in 2012, TerraCycle made headlines by announcing it was using recycled cigarette butts to make pallets. Another company makes pallets from recycled carpeting. Chances are, you haven’t seen any of those innovative pallets carrying merchandise in your supply chain. The quest continues, however, and agricultural fibers are garnering more attention.
“Fibers from banana trees and hemp, for example, are from sources that grow quickly and offer higher yields than trees,” Dr. White told Logistics Management Magazine in 2018. “…once banana trees stop producing they are otherwise useless, and hemp can be rotated every six months,” White explained. “Companies are molding these alternative fibers with or without adhesives into pallet form then testing to essentially try to improve on Mother Nature.”
Banana Pallets
As Dr. White noted, banana stems can be produced into pallets. Yellow Pallet is a Netherlands-based company that creates production systems designed to press or extrude banana waste into materials that can be assembled into pallets. The company recently reported that its banana fiber pallet blocks have now meet EPAL (European Pallet Association) technical standards. Given that 21 million pallets of bananas are shipped annually, there is a ready potential market for those pallets. The company currently seems to be focusing on pallet blocks.
Coco Pallets
According to CocoPallet International, a Netherlands-based producer of pallets made from coconut waste, 70 billion coconuts are produced annually, while less than 15 percent of the husk material is utilized. Present applications for husks include flooring and brushes. Around 85 percent of waste material remains, however. As such, this residual presents the opportunity for coconut-based pallets. The material is molded, using a natural binder to help form the pallets.
Founded by Dutch entrepreneur Michiel Vos, the initiative is based on technology developed by scientists at the University of Wageningen, the Netherlands. Vos recently appeared on a supply chain podcast to tell the story of Coco Pallet. Vos was interviewed on the Let’s Talk Supply Chain podcast in 2019.
Flower Power Pallets
Bioestibas manufactured a pressure-molded pallet made from floricultural waste (hydrangea stems) and used 250 tons of hydrangea waste monthly in its pallet production process. It appears to have now pivoted to manufacturing pallets from plastic, including recycled content, based on its website. The company is based in Medellin, Columbia.
Almond Shells to Stiffen Plastic Pallets
Meanwhile, research in California has looked at using torrefied (thermally treated) almond shells as a filler in various applications–including pallets. California grows 80 percent of the world’s almonds, generating more than one billion pounds of shells annually, so outlets are needed. Researchers from USDA discovered that when used as a filler, the torrefied almond shells do a better job of making plastics stiffer than most other traditional materials. They have been tested with plastic trays, pallets, and other products, but we have not seen evidence of commercialization.
Hemp Pallets
Biofiba, an Australian company, actively promoted hemp-based pallets in the latter 2010s. It opened its first plant in China in 2017. As North American restrictions on industrial hemp production have ameliorated over time, some companies are now developing hemp pallets in the U.S. and Canada and are working toward commercialization.
Whether these innovative products gain a permanent toehold in the market as pallet materials remains to be seen. There will be many questions about price, performance and customer acceptance. However, the possibility of readily available pallet material and production at the farm gate seems like a good idea that is well worth exploring.
Rick LeBlanc, EMBA, is the founder and editor of Reusable Packaging News (subscribe to the free newsletter) and the 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.]