If you're paying a waste hauler to take your old pallets to a landfill, you're throwing away money — literally. Used pallets have value, and disposing of them responsibly is easier, cheaper, and often more profitable than you think.
Option 1: Sell them to a recycler. Companies like Riverside Pallet Co. buy used pallets in any condition. Pricing depends on type, size, and condition, but even heavily damaged pallets have value as raw material for repair stock and mulch production.
Option 2: Free pickup recycling programs. For loads of 200+ pallets, most recyclers offer free pickup. You save on disposal costs, and the pallets get a second life. It's a win-win.
Option 3: Pallet exchange programs. Some industries operate informal exchange systems where pallets circulate between businesses. If your pallets are in good condition, this can be the simplest option.
Option 4: Donate them. Community workshops, artists, DIY builders, and garden projects all use pallets. While this works for small quantities, it's not scalable for commercial volumes.
What you should never do: burn pallets (releases toxic chemicals from treated wood and fasteners, and may violate air quality regulations), send them to landfill (wastes valuable material and may violate California SB 1383), or dump them illegally (fines start at $1,000 per incident).
At Riverside Pallet Co., we make responsible disposal easy. Call us, we pick up, you get paid (or at minimum, free disposal). There's no excuse for pallets to end up in a landfill.