Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1161332
other materials, can be made out of a variety of grades of softwood and hardwoods dependent on the needs and desires of the customers, and are fully reusable and recyclable. "Every cubic meter of wood used as a substitute for other building materials reduces CO2 emissions to the atmosphere by an average of 1.1 ton CO2," according to CEI-BOIS, the European Confederation of Wood Industries which represents interests in 16 countries. "If this is added to the 0.9 tons of CO2 stored in in wood, each cubic meter of wood saves a total of 2 tons CO2." Talking further about sustainability and recyclability, these are two primary reasons why the wood pallet industry continues to grow. "The wood packaging industry helps contribute to healthy forests in a number of ways," said Tom Martin, president and CEO of the American Forest Foundation speaking in the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association's Healthy Markets video. "Most important though, they provide a market for the small diameter materials that have come off forests if we are going to protect them from wildfire, from bugs, from disease. That's vital." Others chimed in agreement on the video. "The wood packaging industry is a critical player in advancing the health of our forests because it's that small diameter, dead and dying wood, that often can be used in packaging applications and pallets that can't be used on higher-end products," added Carlton Owen, president and CEO of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities. "Without markets for that low-value material, we can't move our forests to a healthier, more resilient condition." As for the recycling of wooden pallets, there are numerous options. Many companies not only reuse pallets as they are, but they have the resources to repair to "fit-for-use" criteria to ensure the "new" pallet meets performance criteria for the secondary user. And pallets no longer usable for such can be chipped for a number of animal bedding, farm and garden uses. Even the nails can be recycled. "Use of wood coupled with product specification tools ensure that wood packaging is the only one of the most renewable packaging materials designed to eliminate product damage and ensure safe handling across the supply chain," according to the USDA Forest Service in its Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineered Product. Most importantly to the recyclability of wood pallets and packaging, people and companies are doing it. Researchers at Virginia Tech in 2018 found that, after a two-year study, "Ninety-five percent of wooden pallets in the U.S. are being recycled instead of sent to landfills as (companies) and landfill facilities increasingly choose to repair, resell, or grind up the old pallets for mulch." The researchers leading the study, done in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Wooden Pallet & Container Association, tracked the flow of pallets into municipal, solid waste, construction, and demolition landfill facilities and found that the number of pallets entering these landfills fell by 86 percent since the last measure in 1998. The profound difference in the numbers comes from increased environmental awareness, limited disposal space and a desire for companies to become more waste efficient, according to the study. Businesses have also discovered additional product streams such as chipping old pallets for animal and garden uses. And, if you check out websites such as Pinterest, there is also a huge uptick in people using pallets for home and decorative uses. So who is making the decisions to go with wood or alternate pallet materials? The leading tipping point is not just customer demand, but the type of product being moved and in which industries. Also important for those wanting to use plastic pallets Tipping Points Toolbox B elow are a few resources found at NaturesPackaging.org (Resources >> Downloads tab) to address customer tipping points mentioned in this article. Please share these verified, third-party research papers with your customers. • Highest recycle rate of 95%: Virginia Tech research paper published in 2018 shows that wooden pallets have the highest recyclable rate compared to other packaging materials; the second highest is paper/paperboard at 75% while plastics are 15%. • Jobs and the economy: The wood packaging industry supports 173,000 jobs in America, and represents a $31 billion dollar industry, according to an economic impact study conducted by NAMs Manufacturing Institute's Center for Manufacturing Research in partnership with INFORUM. • Sustainable and renewable: There are more trees being planted every day. Research from the USDA Forest Service finds that the United States is richly endowed with forests, 751 million acres to be exact, and the amount of wood in these forests is increasing. Refer to the national report on sustainable forests or the customer handout, "North American Forests are Sustainable." palletcentral.com PalletCentral • July-August 2019 19