How a business should dispose of pallets
Work down the list: return pooled pallets to their owner, send sound pallets to reuse or back to suppliers, send broken ones for repair or grinding, and use energy recovery or landfill last. In North Carolina, Massachusetts and Vermont, landfilling pallets or wood is already restricted by state law.
The order
- Return: pooled pallets (blue, red, plastic) go back to their owner. How.
- Reuse: sound pallets to a reuse company or back to the supplier. Reuse.
- Repair and remanufacture: broken but salvageable pallets. Repair.
- Grind: wood that can't be saved, into mulch, bedding or feedstock. Mulch.
- Energy recovery. Combustion.
- Landfill, where legal, last.
Check your state
We have checked pallet and wood rules in eleven states so far, with citations. For the rest we name the state agency to ask.
Keep records
Receipts and destination statements let you report diversion and scope 3 category 5 waste. See documenting pallet diversion.
If you only have a few
A handful of pallets a week rarely justifies a contract. Ask the delivering driver to take them back, or ask a neighbouring business with a reuse pickup whether you can add yours to its collection.
Sources
- 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.