Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/973524
palletcentral.com PalletCentral • March-April 2018 15 reduced from 178.5 million to 25 million which could be attributed to the increased environmental awareness of companies and the emerging zero landfill policies that prevent companies from sending packaging materials to landfills. Meanwhile, the number of separated and recycled pallets increased from 38 million to 41 million which means that landfills see an opportunity in recovering and recycling wood pallets into value adding products such as mulch, repaired pallets, or biofuel. The production estimate of new pallets from the Market Survey can be combined with the Landfill estimates above to reveal an overall recycling rate for wood pallets. For 2016, it was estimated that 508 million new pallets were manufactured, and 25 million pallets were landfilled (13 million at MSW and 12 million at C&D facilities), resulting in a recycling rate of 95%. This number was compared to other prominent materials, which demonstrates the superior recycling rate of wood pallets. PC Research on the wood pallet industry and landfill avoidance was conducted in col- laboration with three prominent groups: Virginia Tech, National Wooden Pallet & Container Association, and the U.S. Forest Service. The respective staff leads who provided oversight and co-authored this article are: Laszlo Horvath, PhD, Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech; Brad Gething, PhD, Director of Science and Technology Integration, NWPCA; Phil Araman, Research Team Leader, U.S. Forest Service. Acknowledgement NWPCA would like to thank the hundreds of industry members who volunteered to take part in the survey, as well as the NWPCA Science and Technology Advisory Council and task group volunteers who contributed greatly to the development of the surveys. We would also like to recognize the efforts of Virginia Tech graduate students Nathan Gerber and Zach Shiner, and the guidance and insight provided by Phil Araman of the USDA Forest Service. This research was funded in part by the Pallet Foundation and the USDA Forest Service. The ongoing support of impactful research related to the wood pallet industry is greatly appreciated. Copies of the presentation made by Virginia Tech during the NWPCA Annual Leadership Conference are available to members at PalletCentral.com (under the "Events" tab). Other inquiries may be directed to Annette Ferri, NWPVA Vice President of Communication, aferri@palletcentral.com.