- An owner of a pallet recycling facility needs to coordinate routes and special trips for every truck in his fleet. Each truck's route should be planned to hit the maximum number of clients within a particular region. These routes are used to pick up damaged or used pallets for recycling and deliver pallets made from recycled materials. In order to stay environmentally responsible and cost effective, a pallet recycling facility should keep one truck available for special trips that may not occur on a daily basis to keep regular routes on schedule.
- In most pallet recycling facilities, the owner has an office that overlooks the production floor. This vantage point allows the owner to make sure that employees are completing their tasks efficiently. An owner should spend time between tours, paperwork and meetings to examine every step in the pallet-recycling process. The pallet-recycling process starts with breaking down wooden pallets into planks and plastic pallets into liquid plastic. Owners should visit the floor each day to make sure that boards are assembled properly and plastic pallets meet design specifications. A weekly review of supply rooms and loading areas keeps high-traffic areas clear for regular deliveries.
- The machinery used in pallet recycling includes computer numeric control (CNC) machines, forklifts and delivery trucks. An owner should calibrate CNC machines to reduce variations between attachments and programmed dimensions for pallets. Pallet recycling facilities need forklifts to carry dozens of plastic and wood pallets from loading areas to delivery trucks. The company's mechanics replace oil, lubricate hydraulic parts and order replacement parts to fulfill regular maintenance checks. Owners also schedule weekly cleanings and inspections of delivery trucks to avoid breakdowns during daily routes.
- A pallet-recycling facility draws interest from reporters, school groups and government officials interested in sustainable industries. The owner of a facility conducts tours on a regular basis to showcase recycling processes for plastic and wooden pallets. While experienced staffers may be capable of running tours, most owners take it upon themselves to give tours to answer complex questions from visitors. These tours allow owners to act as ambassadors for an industry that carries millions of products each year.
- A majority of a pallet-recycling company owner's day is spent on administrative tasks. The primary task of a facility owner is ensuring that recycling processes, deliveries and salvaging projects are creating enough revenue for operation expenses. Since the margins in pallet recycling are narrow, an owner needs to keep a close eye on daily financial statements. Staff turnover in pallet recycling and salvage can be high as workers seek white-collar jobs or higher-paying manufacturing positions. A pallet-recycling firm needs to keep recruiting for new employees in order to meet consumer demand. An owner participates in phone interviews, answers online questionnaires and promotes pallet recycling to the public in an effort to raise awareness of this growing industry.
