Pallets in landfills: rules, numbers and what WARM assumes
EPA estimated 6.78 million tons of wood packaging, mostly pallets, were landfilled in 2018. Some states ban it: North Carolina keeps pallets out of MSW landfills and Massachusetts and Vermont ban wood. WARM's landfill factor for dimensional lumber is −0.92 MTCO2E per short ton, because it credits carbon stored in buried wood.
The numbers
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wood containers and packaging landfilled, 2018 | 6.78 million tons (58.8% of generation) | EPA |
| Pallets landfilled at US MSW landfills, 2016 | about 13.1 million (138 million in 1998) | Shiner, Virginia Tech |
| Pallets landfilled at MSW and C&D landfills, 2016 | 25.39 million (industry figure) | Pallet Foundation |
Where it's banned
North Carolina bans wooden pallets from landfills other than those permitted for C&D debris only. Massachusetts bans wood at landfills. Vermont bans wood waste, which its statute defines to include untreated wood. The comparison table lists every state we have checked.
Why the factor is negative
WARM's landfill factor for dimensional lumber nets 0.02 for transport and 0.15 for landfill methane against −1.09 for carbon that stays stored in the landfill (Exhibit 12-15). Gas capture changes it slightly: −0.92 without capture, −1.01 with flaring and −1.02 with electricity generation (Exhibit 12-16). Moving wood from landfill to reuse is still a gain, but a smaller one than calculators that ignore landfill storage claim.
For a scope 3 inventory, EPA's Hub uses 0.17 MTCO2e per short ton for landfilled dimensional lumber, because inventory factors leave out storage credits. See WARM versus Hub.
Sources
- Containers and Packaging: Product-Specific Data (wood packaging, 1960–2018) U.S. EPA. Accessed October 27, 2026. Page last updated October 19, 2026; latest data year 2018.
- Investigation of Disposal and Recovery of Wood and Wood Packaging in the United States (M.S. thesis) Virginia Tech (Z. P. Shiner, 2018). Accessed October 27, 2026. Published in peer-reviewed form as Shiner, Horvath, Araman and Gething, BioResources 16(1): 1496–1522 (2021).
- Landfill Avoidance (March 2018) Pallet Foundation (industry body). Accessed October 27, 2026. Industry publication. Always attributed.
- Documentation for Greenhouse Gas Emission and Energy Factors Used in WARM, Version 16: Construction Materials Chapters, ch. 12 Wood Products (EPA-530-R-23-020) U.S. EPA. Accessed October 27, 2026. Exhibits 12-3 (p. 12-3), 12-9, 12-13, 12-15 and 12-16 (p. 12-10).
- GHG Emission Factors Hub 2025, Table 9 (Scope 3 Category 5 and Category 12) U.S. EPA Center for Corporate Climate Leadership. Accessed October 27, 2026. The 2025 Hub is the latest listed on the Hub page on the access date.
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 130A-309.10 (prohibited acts; disposal bans) North Carolina General Assembly. Accessed October 27, 2026.
- 310 CMR 19.017 Waste Bans Massachusetts DEP (text via Cornell LII). Accessed October 27, 2026.
- 10 V.S.A. § 6621a Landfill disposal requirements Vermont General Assembly. Accessed October 27, 2026.