May 6th, 2022

What is a Plastic Pallet and How is it Used?

Plastic Pallet Use Cases and Business Benefits

If you’re involved in product manufacturing, distribution, supply chains or the logistics industry in the UK, one of the things you have to think about is loading up your products and transporting them safely to their destination.

Heavy-duty pallets are instrumental in this.

The traditional wooden pallet keeps acting as the structural foundation of storage and shipping. Over time however, innovators developed the plastic pallet which has held its own over the years.

What is a Plastic Pallet?

This looks and functions much like a wooden pallet. Essentially, the plastic pallet is a structure manufactured through high-pressure injection moulding.

The result is a sturdy structure that can provide mechanical stability to bulky goods. This enhances their handling and even preserves their quality.

Handling involves various tasks including lifting, moving from point to point, stacking, storage and long distance transportation via sea or land.

To facilitate all these activities, nestable pallets are designed to be moveable using equipment by forklifts, front loaders and pallet jacks. Rackable plastic pallets can also be fully customised to better fit a company’s needs.

Plastic pallets also have standardised sizes. These are manufactured in compliance with the different regulations imposed in different regions, such as Euro Pallets and Half-Euro Pallets, and to adapt easily to a variety of different pallet trucks for smooth transport.

One of the main reasons why these standards are in place is to eliminate the inconveniences and wastages that can be experienced when transferring goods to a particular region.

Pros and Cons

Why plastic pallets?

Here are some advantages of heavy duty plastic pallets:

Pros

In the pro camp, we’ve got some pretty compelling reasons you might consider plastic pallets an indispensable asset your business operations.

Durability

Plastic used for pallet production is highly resistant to most aggressive chemical that would ruin other pallet types. These include alkalis and acids. this makes them quite a heavy duty, resistant material.

A heavy-duty, rackable plastic pallet is also quite sturdy against mechanical damage which allows it to have a lifespan of up to 10 years. This takes into account handling and racking in warehouses and during freight. if you are keen on running a green enterprise using pallets made solely from recycled materials, this is an eco-friendly option.

They’re Hygienic

Unlike wooden pallets, for example, plastic pallets do not absorb spills or moisture. Wooden crates will retain moisture and begin to rot, develop an odour or get infested requiring fumigation.

Because of their smooth surface and contamination-free materials, plastic pallets can easily and quickly be cleaned after each use or as needed.

The process of cleaning and drying their anti-slip surface will take very little time, which is also important in business.

For companies in the food, dairy or pharmaceutical industries, you can be sure products will get to your customers in good condition via extremely hygienic pallets.

They Enjoy Exemptions

There exists a wide range of measures created be the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) that are aimed at mitigating the introduction and spread of invasive species.

These include termites, bugs, beetles and pathogens. This is known as the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 or the regulation of wood packaging material in international trade (ISPM-15).

Wood pallets, alongside other packaging material like dunnage and crates, are affected by ISPM-15.

Plastic pallets made from quality materials are exempt from this in the UK, and most other countries.

They’re Lightweight

Plastic pallet boxes are significantly lighter than wooden and metallic pallets. This makes them much easier to haul from one point to the next.

This is not the only advantage of light pallet boxes. When it comes to shipping, pallet weight is important.

This is especially true for airfreight shipping. while you cant do much about the weight of our products, choosing a light pallet can help maintain your weight to a minimum.

Thanks to their weight, the plastic pallet will attract lower shipping costs in all transportation modes. They also pose less wear to the shipping vehicle’s engine which is an added plus.

They Save Space

Nestable plastic standard pallets are great for maximising on space during transport. when empty, these can fit into each other. this mean you can save a lot of space – and costs on the return trips. Think about stackable styrofoam cups; you can do the same with collapsible pallet boxes – their versatility and load capacity is second to none.

Aside from their light weight and innate capability of carrying a heavy load, maximising on space can also save you cash on logistics for transport in and outside the UK. You also economise on warehouse space by racking them up. this quality makes the pallet box ideal for bulk storage.

Cons

As advantageous as plastic pallet boxes are, they also have some disadvantages, though these don’t outweigh the positives.

The main ones are;

Cost

Plastic pallet boxes are costlier to acquire upfront than wooden ones. However, plastic pallets will last much longer, making their cost worthwhile.

That aside, both wood and plastic options are also recyclable. This makes pallets made from recycled plastics are a good option for sustainable businesses aiming to reduce packaging waste and minimise carbon footprint.

This process of creating recycled plastic pallets has to be managed very carefully however, as it involves safely melting down the plastic. The fumes from this can be toxic, so workplace safety is paramount.

Difficult to Repair

Wooden pallets are easier to repair should they break, all that might be needed is replacement and

attachment of the missing or broken plank.

While plastics are reusable, they are much harder to repair when damaged. This process almost always entails melting the plastic down and recreating a new plastic containers or pallets.

Choose Your Plastic Pallets Today

RollPallet UK offers a decent range of plastic roll pallets and nestable plastic pallet options that suit the needs of most modern manufacturing, transport and logistics industries. We source our equipment from the best pallet manufacturers in the market, and don’t scrimp on quality or cost.

So, why not place your order with us today? If you’re unsure what works for you, one of our experts will help you find the perfect plastic pallet options best suited to your organisation’s needs.