Recycling is a fundamental aspect when it comes to the preservation of the environment. As an organisation, taking care of the environment is a part of corporate social responsibility that you should take seriously. Waste pallet recycling is uncomplicated, and while you can do it independently, you can also engage professionals. Besides, it’s an excellent way to save while promoting environmental conservation. Here’s how wooden recycling pallets impact the environment.
Reduced Dumping
When you have old and worn-out pallets stacked in your business’s warehouse or storage room, the first instinct might be to throw them away at dump sites. But have you thought about how they affect the environment? Although wood is organic, it’s not easily degraded like other organic materials such as leaves. Therefore, it’s likely to be in the landfill, harming the environment.
Most landfills, especially in Australia, comprise timber. You can recycle your old pallets to good use instead of contributing to this waste. You can work with recyclers who’ll help your business with alternatives such as mulches, building products, and animal bedding that you can resell. Therefore, as your business buys pallets in Sydney, consider recycling the old ones to reduce landfill.
Reduces your Business’s Carbon Footprint
Many organisations, especially manufacturing and shipping, contribute the most carbon emissions. Therefore it’s every organisation’s responsibility to look after the environment. Making pallets involves emissions at various stages, such as cutting trees, shipping the timber to manufacturers, and shipping the pallets to businesses around the mouth.
Whether by air, road, or water, the pallet business leaves a significant trail of carbon emissions. Recycling these pallets may seem like a drop in the ocean, but it reduces carbon footprint. In addition, the timber in pallets stores carbon on its own. Therefore, recycling it for other uses helps the environment a great deal.
Reduced Logging
Logging has contributed to the destruction of significant forests worldwide, leading to climate change affecting rainfall patterns. Prolonged drought has become a global menace, contributing to hunger deaths. Recycling pallets is one way, however small, that reduces massive logging.
Recycling pallets means they remain in circulation, reducing the production of new ones. In addition, recycling also involves using them in other applications that require timber.
Some of these uses include
- Fencing around homes: Your business can dismantle the pallets to surrounding communities. These communities can then use the pallets as fences around their homes.
- Furniture: As a business, you can sell your old pallets to those who make furniture. a lot of furniture can be made out of pallets, like benches, pet houses and even bookshelves, beds, tables, doors, and gates.
- DIY projects: Your business can sell the pallets to timber suppliers, who can sell to those who love DIY projects such as bookshelves, storage drawers, and wine racks.
Recycling gives rise to newer, remodelled materials to make more robust pallets to reduce the need for hardwood. Usually, the hardwood comes from indigenous trees on the verge of extinction. Recycling pallets helps protect and conserve delicate ecosystems on the verge of collapsing.
Reduce the Use of Plastics
While plastic is greener than wooden pallets, they are detrimental to the environment in the long run. This is because they are non-biodegradable and contribute to most dumpsite waste. Plastic waste has become a menace globally, affecting the oceans, rivers, and open land. Although governments are developing stringent measures to reduce the use of plastic on a small and large scale, plastic pallets are gaining popularity.
Refurbishing and recycling wooden pallets is a great way to reduce the uptake of plastic pallets. Although plastic pallets are vital, especially where sterilisation is mandatory, it’s crucial to minimise their use to reduce their ill effects on the environment.
Also, wooden pallets can be refurbished to serve other uses that require plastic, such as storage boxes. This helps in reducing plastic waste.
Generate Income That your Business can Use Towards Environmental Growth
Recycling pallets allow your business to generate extra cash that you can use to plant trees around your community or promote fund initiatives such as cleaning. You can get funds by selling raw materials for recycling, refurbishing, and selling pallets.
Conclusion
Recycling pallets is the best way to care for the environment for businesses that deal with pallets. It helps reduce carbon emissions during the shipping and distribution of pallets and minimises the use of plastic. Additionally, it reduces the cutting down of trees by reducing the demand for new pallets. Finally, recycling reduces landfill as businesses have better ways of disposing of their pallets.
