Reuse and Recycle Pallets to Support Tennessee Forestry

Pallets affect everyday life more than most people probably realize. Nearly every single item available to purchase was once transported or stored on a pallet. As Mike Goodpasture, president of Fabrication Specialties Corp. in Centerville puts it, “Pallets move the world.”

Building the Backbone 

Goodpasture’s company specializes in making new wood pallets. 

“The lumber comes to us from sawmills within a 75-mile radius, then we cut it to length, size and specification for pallets,” Goodpasture says. “We fabricate somewhere around three to four semi loads of pallets a day.”

Tennessee is home to 14 million acres of forest land, most of which are hardwood trees. The wood from hardwood trees is used in a variety of applications. The higher quality pieces are used to create furniture and other building materials. Meanwhile, the lower-quality pieces, such as the cores of the logs, are used to make boards for pallets. 

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“The really nice stuff you see in furniture and flooring is high-value. Oaks, hickory and maple trees, for example, are all turned into things we see, touch and feel,” says Tim Phelps, the communications and outreach unit leader for the Tennessee Division of Forestry. “To manage a forest for high-value lumber, you will have a mix of high-quality and low-quality material.” 

Forest management is essential to have a consistent and affordable supply of wood products of all types. 

“Ensuring we have markets for the low-quality materials, like the pallet industry, which uses the wood more for its structural characteristics than how nice it looks, is important for active forest management,” Phelps says. “The pallet industry provides landowners an incentive to actively manage their woods.”

The state’s forestry industry employs roughly 100,000 people and contributes $24.3 billion to the economy. It’s made up of primary manufacturers, like sawmills, and secondary manufacturers, such as businesses like Goodpasture’s. 

 “Pallet manufacturers are one of the biggest users of wood in the industry. A tremendous number of pallets are being built,” Goodpasture says.

Reduce, Reuse, Upcycle Pallets

When a pallet is broken, it can still be useful. There are businesses that specialize in repairing and recycling broken pallets for reuse. 

A more recent trend is to turn pallets into something totally new, like furniture. Upcycling pallets into bed frames, headboards, desks and more is becoming increasingly popular. Each item will be unique, according to Dr. Adam Taylor, the wood product Extension specialist and professor at the University of Tennessee. 

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“Lumber is graded based on how clear the wood is. So, wood that is not clear will have defects, or you could call them character marks, such as knots, crooks or markings. They’re visually interesting,” Taylor says. “Wood pallets are low-grading materials, so they will feature some or all of these characteristics. Upcycling them is a great sustainability story. It’s a ‘leftover’ product already, being used to make something appealing.”

While pallets can be produced from other materials, such as plastic, Taylor argues that wood pallets remain better for the environment. 

“While you can recycle plastic, it’s a very energy intensive process. It requires much more energy to make things with plastic than it does with wood. If we didn’t use wood, we would likely use something more damaging to the environment.” 

Locally Grown Products

The Tennessee Wood Products branding initiative is sponsored by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and aims to increase visibility and enhance marketing opportunities for the state’s wood products industry. Buying forest products from Tennessee suppliers helps support local landowners and businesses and maintains healthy, working forests. The Tennessee Wood Products brand is available to eligible businesses to utilize in marketing materials for free. Learn more about the initiative at tnwoodproducts.org.

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Pinterest-Worthy Pallet Projects

1. Pallet Garden

Turn a pallet on its side and nail or screw additional wood to the bottom of the slats in order to hold soil. Add the names of your herbs with paint or chalk.

2. Creative Coffee Table

Simply attach legs and casters to the bottom of a pallet to raise it to coffee table height. Add a glass top for an even surface for your belongings.

3. Sustainable Shelves

Turn pallets on their sides and attach them to the wall in multiple levels or a single row. Attach additional horizontal pieces of wood to prevent your belongings from falling through. 

4. Outdoor Furniture

Nail or screw two pallets together at a 90 degree angle. Add an additional base pallet for height and cushions for comfort.