Article: User-friendly paper pallets

Tuesday August 4, 2009

Protecting the environment is De Frazer's top priority, and it has done so by introducing Green Pallet, a compressed paper pallet manufactured in Malaysia that is user-friendly, durable and can handle loads as heavy as four tonnes.

While traditional wooden and plastic pallets are made from wood and non-renewable resources, Green Pallet is made from 100% recycled paper. Paper pallets are 67% lighter than those made of wood. This means lower freight costs.

A wooden pallet weighs a minimum of 25kg, a plastic pallet between 12kg and 35kg, while paper pallets weigh from 10kg to 15kg. One of the most important advantages of using the Green Pallet is that it does not need to be fumigated. Traditionally, wooden pallets are fumigated for import and export purposes to prevent the transfer of micro-organisms. Usually, a colourless, non-flammable, highly toxic gas called methyl bromide is used. This toxic gas is hazardous to health and when inhaled in high concentration for a short period of time will cause headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. The gas is also highly harmful to the ozone layer.

Heat treatment is another option but most exporters do not use this method as it is costly and time-consuming.

Furthermore, wooden pallets are disposed of by burning them or are left to rot. This will increase the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which leads to the greenhouse effect.

According to the US Forest Science and Department of Agriculture, almost 40% of hardwood in the US is used for wooden pallets. Another study found that 6.16 million tonnes of wooden pallets ended up at the municipal solid waste and construction demolition landfill facilities in 1995.

Plastic pallets are made from non-renewable resources like oil and this has considerable impact on the environment. With the increase in export and import around the world, large volumes of wooden and plastic pallets have piled up in landfills. The use of Green Pallet will help reduce this wastage.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Go Green Live Green 4 August 2009