Remanufactured pallets: rebuilt from salvaged boards
Remanufacturing takes pallets apart and builds new pallets from the sound boards, often in a different size. Only the broken wood leaves the loop. WARM treats recovered dimensional lumber as reuse (−1.66 MTCO2E per short ton, WARM v16 Exhibit 12-3), which fits the salvaged boards but not the offcuts sent for grinding.
How it works
- Pallets that fail repair are cut or pried apart, usually with a band-saw dismantler that slices through the nails.
- Boards are sorted by length, width and condition; nails and fragments go to scrap.
- Sound boards are trimmed and built into new pallets, sometimes a smaller or custom size.
- Offcuts and broken pieces go to grinding for mulch, bedding or fuel feedstock.
Why it matters for your numbers
A load sent to a recycler is often split three ways: whole pallets resold, pallets repaired or remanufactured, and wood ground. If your recycler can tell you the split, enter it in the Pallet Fate Report as reuse and grinding shares rather than calling the whole load 'recycled'.
Remanufactured boards earn the reuse credit in EPA WARM v16, Exhibit 12-3. Ground wood earns nothing in WARM, because WARM has no composting or recycling factor for dimensional lumber; see mulch.
Questions to ask a recycler
- What share of what you collect is resold, repaired or remanufactured, and what share is ground?
- Where does the ground wood go, and is painted or treated wood kept out of it?
- Can you put the split on the receipt or a quarterly report?
Sources
- 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).