Alternative to a Wood Pallet

Alternatives to wooden pallets may cost more, but do serve the purpose.

Shipping and manufacturing companies use wooden pallets to ship items from one point to another. Although oak wooden pallets provide strength, these pallets often suffer damage in shipping, which leads more companies to find alternatives to wood pallets.

Plastic

Plastic pallets have the same dimensions and design of a wooden pallet except that the boards are extruded plastic. There are no stables, screws or nails to damage items that are placed on the pallet or to injure workers.

Metal

Stainless steel or aluminum pallets are expensive and mostly used by companies that keep pallets on-site to store product. These pallets are durable and heavier than a wooden pallet.

Composite

Made from a combination of materials including recycled plastic, wood shavings and sawdust, some composite pallets incorporate different types of plastic. These pallets are strong and do not sustain as much damage as the wooden pallet.

Slip Sheets

Slip sheets are made of 1/16-inch or 1/32-inch thick corrugated cardboard with two to four end tabs. The tabs fold up to hold product in place or fold down so that a slip-sheeter fork lift can grab the slip sheet and pull in onto the metal platform of the forklift.

References

• Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance: Wooden Pallets
• Cascade Corporation: Slip Sheeter

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish