Plastic pallets are platforms used for the storage and transportation of products. The words “plastic pallets” and “plastic skids” are interchangeable; they are both platforms that are used to store and transport materials. Warehouses, factories, shipping companies and many other kinds of companies make use of pallets and skids.
Related Categories
View A Video on Plastic Pallets - A Quick Introduction
Visit our Recycling Equipment page
Historically, wood has been the primary skid and pallet construction material, but wooden skids are susceptible to splintering, breaking, becoming contaminated by pathogens like E. Coli, catching fire and a host of other problems. Most wooden skids don't see more than two years of service before they become unusable. Plastic is an excellent pallet construction material for all of the reasons that wood is not. Plastic pallets can be stackable, rackable and nestable, which helps companies make the most effective use of their storage and shipping spaces. Shipping pallets can be designed to accommodate American markets, and export pallets can be designed to meet the standards of international markets (the Euro pallet is one prominent example). Custom pallets can be designed to meet unusual storage or shipping needs. Drum pallets, many of which are spill containment pallets, keep drums of hazardous or messy chemicals safe and prevent them from causing environmental degradation or threatening workspace safety. The characteristic that most sets plastic pallets apart from wooden pallets is that their service life can be up to 5 times as long as the average wooden pallet; used plastic pallets can remain in use without showing signs of significant wear or degradation for as long as ten years. Once a plastic pallet does reach the end of its usable life, it can be recycled and reprocessed into a new pallet or another plastic product.
All pallets, wooden, plastic or otherwise, must be able to bear a load without breaking, slipping or shifting at any time during storage or transport. They must also be accessible by a forklift, hi-low or other variety of jack for movement within warehouses or for loading and offloading during shipping. Wooden pallets are at an immediate disadvantage in both regards compared to plastic pallets. Because of variability in strength among boards in a given pallet, load weight distribution can be uneven. Also, because almost every variety of wooden pallet can only be accessed by forklift or pallet jack from two directions, they can be difficult to reach in areas where space is tight or limited. Most plastic pallets are accessible from all sides, and some can even be lifted at their angles. This is possible because many plastic pallets are designed with an array of nine feet or legs spaced about their corners, sides and middle. Because of the sturdiness of the plastic material, if the load weight is appropriate for the pallet, there will be no give or shifting in the material. Plastic pallets have a higher strength-to-weight ratio than wood; a plastic pallet that is much lighter than a wooden pallet is likely to feature a higher load weight capacity than the wooden pallet.In addition to their properties of strength and durability, plastic pallets' chemical composition gives them distinct advantages in a range of applications. The agricultural, food service, beverage, pharmaceutical and all other industries involved in the production and shipment of products for human consumption must all comply with strict shipping conditions standards. The United States Food and Drug Administration regulates consumer product handling procedures, and consumer studies groups like the National Consumers League conduct surveys of pallets in circulation and tests them for contamination. In a NCL survey of wooden pallets in a perishable products shipment, 10% were contaminated with E. Coli and Listeria, while only 1.4% of plastic pallets were contaminated. Plastic pallets are non-porous, resistant to inhospitable temperatures and unlikely to become habitats for harmful organisms. They are also more easily cleaned. Outside of consumer products contexts, plastic pallets are often suitable for the storage and shipment of hazardous industrial chemicals. High-density polyethylene, the plastic material from which most plastic pallets are fabricated, will not corrode or degrade when exposed to chemicals like acetone and calcium sulfate. Plastic pallets can even be designed to act as containment basins that catch spills or leaks from drum loads. These containment pallets protect workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals and prevent environmental degradation.
The environmental impact of widespread plastic pallet production compared to that of wooden pallet production is unclear. Wooden pallets are resource intensive, and the market for them requires an immense supply of wood to meet demand. Because wood pallets' life spans are so limited, new wood for pallet manufacturers must constantly be harvested. Plastic pallets, however, are derivatives of petrochemicals. The extraction, processing and development of petrochemicals and their derivative products are immensely resource-intensive operations. They contribute to environmental degradation on a global scale and fuel political instability worldwide. Pallets are used by all industries all over the world for shipping and storage. If wooden pallets were phased out, plastic pallets would most likely replace them, increasing the demand for raw plastic, refined petrochemicals and crude oil in the process. Plastic pallets can, however, be reused and recycled, which are not features of wooden pallets. Ongoing development of plastic technologies and recycling of used plastic pallets may mitigate the environmental impact of plastic pallet production, but the businesses that make use of plastic pallets are ultimately responsible for maximizing their service lives and properly recycling them when they are no longer usable.
 |
Plastic Pallets Photo Courtesy of TMF Corporation |
 |
 |
Plastic Pallets Images Provided
by PDQ Plastics, Inc. |
|
- Assemble
products on pallets by themselves or with little assistance; often part
of a larger shipping system.
- Devices with gripping
modifications specifically designed to arrange bags on pallets for shipping and/or
movement; may be in-line or robotic.
- A pallet
with its sides painted blue, indicating it is owned by the rental company
CHEP.
- A pallet which stays within a facility and is not
exchanged, traded or delivered off-site.
- A product typically
extruded from polypropylene that has been fluted in a way that is similar to
corrugated board and is waterproof, durable, resistant to chemicals, available
in a variety of transparent and translucent colors and has a good strength to
weight ratio.
- The side of the pallet that
faces upward or downward.
- A pallet that permits
forklift entry on all four sides, as well as diagonally at each corner.
- The entry place for forks
to move the pallet, usually between decks or under the top deck.
- A pallet
that permits forklift entry into all four sides.
- Promoting health; sanitary.
- Speed the stacking
goods onto a pallet and aid with layer organization.
- The capability of containers
of different sizes to be placed one inside another.
- A
pallet that cannot be used when turned upside down, either because it
has no boards or have a limited number of bottom boards.
- An expendable pallet
made of low-quality materials intended to be shipped once and then disposed of.
- A pallet with
its sides painted orange, indicating it is part of the Canadian Pallet
Council pallet pool.
- The
maximum load carrying capacity and deflection of a pallet where, at the
ends of the deckboards, the rack frame sustains the pallet.
- The maximum carrying
capacity of a pallet where, only at the ends of the stringers or stringer boards,
the rack frame sustains the pallet.
- A pallet that
has deck boards spaced identically on top and bottom, permitting the
pallet to be reversed.
- A
device that ranges in size from small enough to be inserted into a label on a
package to a paperback book that is attached to an object and transmits data
to a receiver; able to hold more data than barcodes, does not require line-of-sight
to transfer data and is highly effective in harsh environments.
(http://www.iqsdirectory.com/rotational-molding/)
- Common form of production for plastic pallets because of the resulting strength,
seamlessness and availability of custom designs.
- A pallet that has not bottom
boards (also known as a "single-deck pallet).
- A panel used
to support the base of a palletized load in rack-storage facilities.
- Boards located between
the bottom and top deck boards of a pallet.
- A pallet
that permits forklift entry in the two opposite pallet ends only.
- The collecting of goods
to be moved or shipped onto a pallet.
- Pallets not painted
or marked to indicate their ownership.
