Recycling wood from pallets
Pallet slats are consistent in size and thickness, making them a versatile source of wood with many uses from panelling to furniture
The Barn
Southampton Wood Recycling furnished Hunning Homes with 80 square metres of pallet boards for a pallet wood ceiling and a bespoke scaffold board table for their project to renovate 3 disused farm buildings into self-contained holiday lets at The Oaks in Durley, Hampshire.
“It has been an absolute pleasure to deal with Southampton Wood Recycling … We purchased almost 80sqm of pallets for our pallet ceiling and a scaffold board table which was made bespoke to suit our needs. I honestly cannot recommend them enough and we will definitely be going back there in the future!”
The Northbrook Arms
The Northbrook Arms is a small pub in East Stratton, a village north of the historic city of Winchester, Hampshire. In 2021 they comissioned Southampton Wood Recyling to make them this elegant outdoor furniture, all from reclaimed pallets.
“We couldn’t be happier with the furniture Southampton Wood Recycling Project made for us! Excellent quality, made to measure and fantastic people to deal with. From start to finish it was a joy working with them and I strongly recommend working with them on your next project!”
With repairs, a wooden pallet can last up to 3 years and travel many thousand miles before needing to be recycled
Using pallet wood safely
Before you begin working with pallet wood, you need to establish that it’s safe for the project you’re undertaking. Pallets are sometimes treated with dangerous pesticides to preserve them, and even safely treated pallets may be exposed to dangerous chemicals during their lifetime. There’s also the risk that the wood may be damaged or infected with rot which can weaken it. If you can’t establish if the pallet you have is safe or not, do not use it for indoor projects such as headboards and furniture, or for garden projects like planters if you expect food may be grown near the wood. Never burn questionable pallet wood or treated lumber in your fireplace or outdoor fire pit.
Watch out for:
MB stamp
If you see MB printed on the pallet, don’t use it! This means the pallet has been treated with Methyl Bromide, a chemical pesticide that was banned in Europe in 2005 due to health concerns and the impact on the ozone.
Contamination
Pallets should be clean, with no signs of spills or leakage. Since pallets may be used for transporting hazardous chemicals, it’s much safer to stick to a pallet that’s definitely clean than try to identify what’s on it!
Mould and rot
Any wooden pallet which contains moisture is heavily susceptible to bacteria and mould. If the wood is splitting or flaking off easily, it’s a clear sign that there’s rot inside.
EUR / CP stamp
Coloured paint
No stamp
A pallet without a stamp is likely a national pallet for use only within the country. These are usually fine to use, but if you suspect the pallet might have been exposed to anything hazardous, don’t take risks.
Other stamps
Stamps about pallet treatments will usually appear next to the IPPC logo (International Plant Protection Convention, which works to reduce the spread of plant pests and diseases). HT = Heat Treated, DB = Debarked, KD = Kiln Dried. These are all safe methods of treating pallets for woodborne disease. The stamp may also include a code to indicate the country and region of origin. EPAL pallets are certified according to the current european standard, and have been debarked and heat treated. None of these stamps indicate any danger.
