Pallets at restaurants and food service
A restaurant gets pallets with broadline food deliveries and rarely needs them. The cheapest route is usually the delivering distributor taking them back. Keep pooled pallets apart for their owner. Don't reuse pallets that carried raw meat or cleaning chemicals for anything in the kitchen.
Where the pallets come from
Broadline foodservice deliveries.
Low volume; often pooled. Restaurants in shopping centres or food halls can ask the property manager to arrange one pallet collection point for all tenants. Distributors that deliver several restaurants on one route may also collect pallets on the return leg if asked. Keep pallets from meat and seafood deliveries away from anything reused in the kitchen or dining room.
Storage and handling
Outside, away from dumpster enclosures and exits.
Program checklist
- Ask your distributor's driver to take pallets back at delivery.
- Set pooled pallets aside for the owner.
- Bundle leftovers for a reuse pickup with neighbouring businesses if volumes are small.
What to track
- Pallets left on site per week (target: none)
Model it
The Pallet Fate Report opens with a starting mix for a restaurant. Replace it with your own counts; the figures are an illustration, not a benchmark.