Business operations
Which pallets shouldn't I throw away? Pooled pallets explained
Updated
Short answer: Pooled pallets, such as blue CHEP pallets, red PECO pallets, iGPS plastic pallets and others stamped as a company's property, are rented, not sold. They belong to the pooling company even when they end up behind your store. Don't throw them away, sell them or give them away: return them to the pool company, which collects them.
What a pallet pool is
Some manufacturers don't buy pallets. They rent them from a pooling company, ship goods on them, and the pool collects the empties from distribution centers and stores, inspects and repairs them, and rents them out again. The pallet never changes owner, however many trucks it rides on.
How to recognize them
- CHEP: painted blue, usually stamped with the CHEP name.
- PECO: painted red, with the PECO name.
- iGPS: plastic pallets marked iGPS.
- Others: any pallet painted a solid color or stamped "property of" a company. If in doubt, treat it as pooled.
Why we don't take them
Hauling away, selling or grinding a pallet that belongs to someone else is a problem for everyone in the chain. Pool companies actively recover their pallets, and several U.S. states have laws against possessing, selling or destroying marked pallets without the owner's permission. Pallet Hauler leaves pooled pallets out of every load. Set them aside before a pickup.
How to return them
- Ask the vendor whose delivery they came on to take them back on its next delivery.
- Contact the pool company. Each one runs a way to report and collect its pallets; look for it on its website.
- Get help sorting a mixed pile: Blue Pallet Recycling is a guide to telling pooled pallets from your own and getting pooled ones back to their owner.
Everything else in the pile, the plain "white wood" pallets, can go on a normal pickup.