Dimensional lumber (in WARM)
EPA WARM's material category for sawn wood, which explicitly includes pallets.
In EPA's Waste Reduction Model, 'wood products' covers dimensional lumber and medium-density fibreboard. WARM's documentation says dimensional lumber includes wood used for containers, packaging and buildings, and names crates, pallets, furniture and two-by-fours.
That's why this site uses the dimensional lumber factors for pallets: −1.66 MTCO2E per short ton for reuse, −0.58 for combustion and −0.92 for landfilling at the national average, from WARM v16 Exhibit 12-3. WARM doesn't model composting or anaerobic digestion for dimensional lumber.
EPA's GHG Emission Factors Hub uses the same material name in its Table 9 inventory factors: 0.17 MTCO2e per short ton landfilled and 0.05 combusted, with recycling NA. See WARM factors and Hub factors.
Using the dimensional lumber row for pallets is EPA's own classification, not an approximation chosen by this site.
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).
- 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.