Pallet pickup: clear the stack from your dock
Clearing means the stack leaves your dock: sound pallets go back into use, repairable ones get a plug or plate, and the rest are taken apart or ground.
- Size
- Any mix
- Build
- Stringer, block
- Grade
- Mixed load, core
- Trades
- Docks, stores, lots
- Towns
- Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon
A pile in the back corner is still a request
Every dock, store and back lot grows a corner of pallets that nobody wants to deal with. It takes floor space, blocks an alley and sometimes draws an inspector's eye. A request to clear it needs only a description of what is there.
What happens to a cleared stack
A cleared stack is read pallet by pallet. How that reading goes is general to the trade, and each step below is described as it is usually done, not as a promise about any one pickup.
- Read the mixSizes and grades are separated. 48x40s are the easiest to place.
- Sound stockPallets that are sound can go back into use as Grade A or B.
- Repairable stockA cracked board gets a plug; a cracked stringer gets a plate. The pallet becomes Grade B.
- Parts and grindingWhat cannot be repaired is dismantled for parts. Wood beyond repair may be chipped for mulch, composite products or biomass.
| Your situation | Page |
|---|---|
| A mix of sizes and grades from a dock | The form below |
| A question about where the wood goes | Pallet recycling |
| Damaged pallets only | Broken pallets |
| A store, restaurant or lot with a few dozen to a few hundred | Pallet disposal |
| Sound stock worth money | Sell |
What to include
- A count, rough is fine
- The sizes you see, and the share of each
- Whether any are broken and how
- Pooled or rented pallets in the pile, which are set aside
- Where the stack sits: indoors, outdoors, in a trailer
- Whether it is one pile or a weekly build
Say the town as well. The metro stretches from Muskegon County to Kent, and the town shapes what else is around the dock. The areas page lists the towns.
Pallets in a wet pile go mouldy and heavy. If the stack has been outdoors through a winter, mention it.
Three questions before a pile is called trash
- Are any of them rented?Pooled pallets go back to the pool.
- Are any of them sound?Sound pallets can be sold, not cleared.
- Are the rest wood?Wood can be ground into mulch or fuel; mixed material cannot.
Why clearing pallets is not just hauling
A truck can haul pallets to a dump. A recycler can sort them and send most of the stack back into use. The second way keeps lumber in circulation, which matters in a region where pallet production accounts for large shares of hardwood and softwood use.
Where the pile is, how it is stacked, whether a truck can reach it and whether it is dry all matter to how it can be cleared. State them plainly in a request, then see recycling for what follows.
A good time to ask
Ask before the stack is a hazard. Pallets stacked too high lean, and a stack that blocks a fire lane or a door is a problem for the dock, not just for the recycler.
A checklist for the person making the request
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Count, in rows and in total | Sets the size of the job |
| Sizes and rough share of each | Tells whether a sort is worthwhile |
| Condition in plain words | Splits sale from clearing |
| Rented pallets, if any | These are not yours to hand over |
| Access | Dock height, gate width, surface, any overhead limit |
| Timing | Whether the stack is blocking something |
Photographs help most. One wide shot of the stack and two close shots of typical pallets are enough.
Clearing is different from selling
A seller looks for a buyer who will pay. A dock that wants space back looks for someone who will remove the stack. The two merge when the pallets are sound, because a buyer then takes them for free or pays a little, and they diverge when the pallets are broken, because then the dock may pay to have them gone. Read sell if you suspect your pile has value.
A common mistake
Leaving a pile outdoors until a pickup is arranged. Rain turns a sound stack of Grade B pallets into a damp, mouldy one in a few weeks, and wood above about 20 percent moisture content can grow mould. Cover the stack or move it inside if you can.
Who benefits from clearing
The dock gets its space back. A recycler gets raw material. The wood stays in use or becomes mulch or fuel instead of landfill. When the three line up, clearing is a good outcome for everyone, and a request that makes the pile easy to understand is the first step.
Preparing a pile for collection
Sort first if you can: sound pallets in one stack, broken in another. Remove trash, banding and loose debris. Keep the stacks dry and clear of doors and fire exits, and stack them straight so they can be counted and lifted safely.
Take a photograph of each stack and one of the access route. Then send the request with counts and sizes. A clear pile and a clear message are the best way to get a straightforward reply.
What makes a pile easy to place
A pile described by count, size, condition and a photograph can be judged in a minute. A pile described only as some pallets cannot.
If the pile is large, say whether it can be moved in stages. Many clear-outs are easier to handle as a first lot followed by a second.
If the pile is on a lease
A tenant clearing pallets should check the lease and tell the landlord. Some leases limit what may be stored outside, and a quick message avoids a dispute.