How much are used plastic pallets worth?
A used plastic pallet lot is worth what its size, style, grade, branding and ZIP make it. This page names the factors. It does not quote a price.
Last reviewed November 12, 2026
The factors, in the order a buyer weighs them
Marks first
If a pallet is pool-marked or tagged, its value to you is nothing, because it is not yours. Everything else waits on this.
Grade
Whole, flat, clean pallets read high. Repaired pallets are graded apart. Cracked ones are scrap. See grades.
Size and uniformity
A lot of one footprint is easier to place than a lot of five. The 48 x 40 GMA pallet is the most common. Retired sizes find fewer buyers.
Style and rating
A rackable pallet with a stated rack rating is a different product from a light one-way pallet. See styles.
Count and place
How many, and where. Offers depend on location, design, condition and market demand.
Why there are no figures here
A figure on a web page cannot know whether your pallets are marked, repaired or broken. A historical scrap price is also misleading: one 2017 trade report put HDPE regrind from drums and IBCs at 24 to 27 cents a pound in the US South, and that is history, not a quote. The desk gives no price until it has read the lot.
| Factor | Reads higher | Reads lower |
|---|---|---|
| Marks | None, or your own | Pool name or RFID tag |
| Grade | New, like new | Repaired, mixed, broken |
| Size | One common footprint | Mixed or retired sizes |
| Style | Rated, matched to a use | Unknown model |
| Count | Uniform stacks | Loose and scattered |
| Place | Easy dock access | Hard access |
Are used plastic pallets worth anything?
Yes, when they are whole and unmarked. Plastic pallets can cost roughly ten times as much as hardwood pallets new, and they are made to be reused, which is why a buyer will inspect a used lot at all. A broken plastic pallet has value only as regrind, by weight.
How much are used plastic pallets worth?
It depends on the five reads above. The desk will not guess from a title. Send the lot and ask.
Do repaired pallets sell?
They can. A cracked part that was welded or swapped is graded apart, and not every use accepts them. Racking and food contact are two that ask for the maker's say.
Does colour matter?
For reuse, mixed colours are fine. For regrind, colour matters, because recyclers sort by resin and colour.
Words you will meet
- Rackable
- Rated to sit on rack beams, with a stated racking load.
- PP
- Polypropylene. More rigid than HDPE and better with heat and harsh chemicals; used where rack stiffness matters.
- Multi-trip pallet
- A pallet designed to be returned and reused many times.
- Welding repair
- Plastic is hard to glue, so cracked parts are normally welded.
- Resin identification code
- Number on a plastic part for the resin, which does not itself say whether it is recyclable.
- Rotational moulding
- Resin heated in a rotating mould to make a hollow jointless part.
- HDPE
- High-density polyethylene, resin code 2. The most common resin in plastic pallets; tough and moisture resistant.
- Virgin resin
- New, unblended resin that has not been through a product before.
- Recycled-content pallet
- A pallet moulded partly or wholly from post-industrial or post-consumer resin.
- Nest ratio
- How many empty pallets fit in the height of one.
- Pooling
- Renting pallets from a company that owns, tracks and collects them instead of buying.
- Captive pallet
- A pallet owned and kept inside one company or loop.
- RFID
- Radio tag moulded or fixed into a pallet so it can be tracked.
- Euro pallet
- 800 x 1200 mm footprint.
- Regrind
- Plastic ground from used or scrap parts into flakes for moulding again.
- Racking load
- Weight a pallet carries bridging an open span in unsupported racking. Often the lowest rating.
Who asks, and what they need
- Plastic recyclers and pallet makers
- Buy broken pallets by weight as HDPE or PP feedstock; want clean, sorted, separated by resin and colour.
- Warehouses with automated storage
- Rackable pallets with a stated rack rating, cruciform base, consistent size for conveyors.
- Chemical and drum shippers
- 48 x 48 and 45 x 45 pallets for drums and bags; chemical resistance.
What the sources say
- In April 2017, HDPE HMW regrind from drums and IBCs was 24 to 27 cents per pound picked up in the US South (historical, not current). (resource-recycling.com)
- Plastic pallets are often described as lasting 100 trips or more, and can cost roughly 10 times as much as hardwood pallets. (en.wikipedia.org)
- EPA's 2018 municipal solid waste data: plastics generation was 35.68 million tons, of which 3.09 million tons (8.7 percent) were recycled and 26.97 million tons landfilled; natural HDPE bottles were recycled at 29.3 percent. The page gives no pallet-specific or polypropylene figure. (epa.gov)
- Rehrig Pacific's rackable pallet has a two-piece snap-lock design for quick repair and options for FDA-approved colours, RFID and up to 15 percent black recycled content. (rehrigpacific.com)
- That used pallet is listed as pharma and food safe but not approved for direct food contact, in colours that vary. (nelsoncompany.com)
- A 2010 insurer figure cited by ICC puts fire spread to a pallet above at about 18 minutes for plastic versus nearly 50 for wood. (iccsafe.org)
- HDPE is the most common resin in plastic pallets; PP is more rigid and the page recommends it for unsupported racking. (nelsoncompany.com)
- HDPE has resin identification code 2, a density of 930 to 970 kg/m3, melts at 131.8 C and is hard to glue, so joints are usually welded. (en.wikipedia.org)
- States where meat and poultry processing is the largest share of private jobs in 2025 (BLS QCEW): Nebraska (3.7%), Arkansas (3.1%), Iowa (2.6%), Delaware (2.4%), Mississippi (2.0%); the national share is 0.42%. (data.bls.gov)
- That Nelson model lists about 60 pallets per stack and 1,800 per truck. (nelsoncompany.com)
- That Nelson model is under 5 in tall, which the page says suits air freight, and works with automation and most roller conveyors. (nelsoncompany.com)
- A used Nelson 48 x 40 x 6.3 in HDPE one-piece pallet weighs 49 lb with 30,000 lb static, 5,000 lb dynamic and 2,200 lb racking ratings. (nelsoncompany.com)
- Plastic pallets can deform (creep) under heavy long-term loads and are hard to repair. (en.wikipedia.org)
- Plastic pallets are made by injection molding, structural foam molding, thermoforming, compression molding, rotational molding and profile extrusion. (en.wikipedia.org)
- Metal pallets are under 1 percent of the pallet market. (en.wikipedia.org)
- An ICC article says unlisted plastic pallets may require raising the commodity hazard class by two classes, and gives an example needing about 55 percent more sprinkler water. (iccsafe.org)
- Wikipedia: Pallet
- Nelson Company: sell used pallets
- Resource Recycling: HDPE regrind price, April 2017
Keep reading
Send the lot
Size, count, grade, branding and ZIP. Photos help, and you can reply to the first answer with them. This site states no price or pickup date.