# what to do with left over pallets



## Lawn Lad (Feb 4, 2002)

okay, this isn't really de-icing related, but what do I do with all the pallets left over from material? Never had to deal with so many. I have about 70 right now just piled up and I need the space back but don't want to pay to dump them. Does anyone recycle these and accept them at no cost? Other than burning, any ideas?


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## chtucker (Sep 6, 2002)

The ones I get at the brewery I give right back to the delivery truck next time they come. 

I do have some people burn them, but some of the pallets have quite a bit of glue. I am sure that glue burning is not good for your brain cells.

Howard


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## Mr_Roboto (Dec 21, 2002)

It depends on the size of the pallet. If they are standard 40x48" four-way pallets, you should be able to find a used pallet company to buy them, or at least haul them out. That size is the easiest to get rid of. If they are a different size, but at least all the same, the same type of company would probably take them, although you would get less from them. Just look in the phone book under "pallets", call and tell them how many and what size. It might take a few calls, some companies just deal in new pallets, but used pallets are a big business.


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## NNJSnow (Feb 16, 2002)

Yea you could just but a sign up outside your site free pallets please take, and just leave the pallets out there and hopefully watch them go or dig a pit and burn em......there used to be a company around here that bought pallets dam...they had an old Ford flat bed truck and i remember seeing it come around the corner at the bottem of the street real fast and seeing the pallets stacked way to high and they all started to move and bam turn the truck over and the pallets went everywhere. They were stapped down but heh i just saw it coming.


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## mike9497 (Oct 30, 2002)

mobark


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## greenquestlawn (Feb 1, 2001)

We have a pallet company that will buy good pallets for $3.00 a piece. They then turn around and sell them to companies to use.

they also take the bad ones and shred them, dye them, and sell them as mulch to landscapers.

I would look in the phone book for a pallet company, 70 pallets looks like about $210.00 to me.


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## snowplowjay (Aug 26, 2002)

if u have a fireplace burn them as kindling otherwise do what the local newspaper in my town does and put an add in the want ads for free skids.


Jay


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## bam (Jan 14, 2001)

most died mulch is chewed up pallets. ask a mulch operation if they'll take the pallets or ask them for their distributor. someone along the line uses a tub grinder. 

or someone should collect them in your area and usually give you money for them.


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## Got Grass? (Feb 18, 2001)

I was thinking thay would be great or building kids a really cool fort but then again most pallets would cause them to look like hedge hogs after all the slivers.


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## Pelican (Nov 16, 2001)

40 x 48s, I'll take 'em! I grab them up wherever I can.

Seriously, if you put them out by the road, someone will take them.


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## a palustris (Jul 28, 2002)

Mike, you have got some serious cojones to run them through a chipper. Those nails will chew your blades to heck. 

Lawn Lad, do you do any stone work? Or sell firewood? Stack the wood or stone slabs on the pallets. They become SO much easier to move like that, provided of course that you have a skid steer with pallet forks. As far as giving them to a mulch company... you will have to pay for that either by the yard or by the ton. Those guys like to make money both coming and going when they use their 1/2 million $ tub grinders.


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## Chief Plow (Dec 12, 2001)

We make a bon-fire out of them every year at our 4th of July bash....

Rick


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## firemedic680 (Oct 22, 2002)

Try calling the local trucking comany yard . Holland-tnt takes mine about 3 times a year as long as they are in good shape. Just grap the phone book and call the top 10 biggest trucking companys in your area. I would also check with the company you buy the salt from , they may want them back?. Just my .02


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## Lawn Lad (Feb 4, 2002)

Made a couple of calls today. Interestingly the 48 x 40's I can get a little something for, however, the 48 x 45's aren't of interest to those that we talked to. It's the 48 x 45's that are more solid and sturdy. Oh well. 

Some people said they'd pick 'em up and haul at no cost - which if all else fails I'll do this. Looking for someone who will give me a buck or two for a pallet (per your guys suggestion) if possible - kinda like free money since I wasn't expecting it. If it keeps snowing like this I'll soon have a 100 pallets stacked up.


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## BRL (Dec 21, 1999)

Lawn Lad,
I think its time to retire that Pro Flo 2 & go big. There are plenty of posts here by me extolling how great those spreaders are, but... When I get to the point where I'm using almost 122 tons half way through the season, I won't be filling up that tailgater 250 times & feeling like I'm getting anywhere LOL. 100 pallets assuming 50 pounders = 122.5 tons (not sure how many 80 pounders go on a pallet to compare). For argument's sake let's say its $200.00\pallet, plus pick up or delivery costs, so at least $20,000.00 + in material costs. For argument's sake, let's say bulk will cost maybe $75.00\ton, dumped into your spreader at a supplier's location (this is what I'm paying to have my Pro Flo 2 filled with bulk), so material costs around $9,000.00 +. Or if you can have the bulk piled at your location or on client's site, maybe $50.00 - $60.00\ton. That's a lot of money to leave on the table. The ROI is there for using a V-box. Or at least go with bulk for the Pro Flo's, though you'll still fill them much more often than a V-box, taking some of the profit away. I forget how many spreaders you have posted you are running, but going to a V-box over the tailgater will mean that V-box will get more done & quicker, so a V-box would probably equal 2 - Pro Flo 2 set ups. I've gone through around 20 tons so far this year, but our normal winter season doesn't usually start until the middle of January. So thinking about these numbers is also helping me figure out if its time for me to bench the tailgater & go with a V-box. In your case, I'd switch without any further thought. Of course this could be a particularly above average winter weather year for you, and a normal year may not support my thoughts. 

I'm glad I read your post, because I hadn't thought of the option that there might be people who will come & take them away. I'll have to make some calls. I've handled my pallets twice already & dread picking them up a third time to get rid of them, even if that will get me a buck or two each. Mine seem to be all odd sizes anyway, so probably not much money to be gained. I think I have 30 or so to get rid of right now.


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## Pelican (Nov 16, 2001)

Most vendors charge a deposit on the pallets when delivered, you may want to check your paperwork. Here a 40 x 48 oak pallet is worth $12, then you get $10 back on return.

The reason the 48 x 45s are undesirable is you can't put two side by side inside a standard truck body. They're usually used for heavy items that are loaded down the center of the trailer.

BRL, there are a bunch of pallet yards around Newark, Jersey City, and Port Jersey.


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## mike9497 (Oct 30, 2002)

a palustris

i have some middle school kids come down once a month and break down the pallets.any nails or metal wire i pull out and in the mobark it goes.then i use my backhoe to load it in the dumpster.i use to put them inmy dumpster and crush them with the backhoe,but the dumpster company complanied because it took there driver to long to load his truck because the pallets would jam up


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## Big Nate's Plowing (Nov 26, 2000)

burned 25 or so off size ones today in the garage for heat, 40x48 are worth $1.35 each if you deliver them to the yard, when we take them in I swing by different landscapers & pick up theirs for free too, last run made $85 bux for a hour of work payup


~Nate~
btw anybody haul scrap metal in the off time??


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## Lawn Lad (Feb 4, 2002)

BRL - You're right on about bagged versus bulk. This is my second year salting. Last year I went through 4 skids, this year so far I'm around 70 (would figure at this rate I'll be over 100 by season's end). Our "salt truck" is a 3500 1 ton with the Pro Flo 2 mounted on a swing gate for easy loading of pallets. I hand load a 1/2 pallet of Magic in the front of the bed, 1 full pallet and then another 10 to 15 80# bags along the sides of the bed. When it's gettting really bad out I'll also load the spreader before we head out. I'm going through about 2 tons a trip. In my truck I have a Western 1000 and I carry about a 1/2 pallet of Magic and a couple bags of salt. I mostly use it for ballast, but should I need it I've got it. 

Hand loading the salt is tedious. We wind up filling it up about 5 times a night. Using 80#'s is more work but it goes quicker. I hate handling bags. When loading Magic, I dread it since they're only 50's and it takes forever to load. 

I went bagged since it's only my seond year. Since I have to replace this truck ('94 GMC 3500), I'm looking at setting up a truck next year to do bulk and how to store the bulk. The economies are certainly there, no doubt. I'll put the Pro Flo 2 on another 1 ton for next year so we'll have two tail gate units and one bulk truck. 

As a side note, having used a single stage and two stage unit, anyone looking to start salting, do yourself a favor and buy the two stage unit. It is so much smoother and nicer to operate than a single stage unit. I think the single stage is nice for really small lots (under 30,000 sq ft). I find the Pro Flo 2 to be too small on lots that are 70,000 and 80,000 square feet. the spread pattern is too small and it takes 10 to 15 minutes to spread the lot to get good/even coverage. Not being able to do bulk limits me on bidding the larger sites. So yet another reason to look at bulk. 

A little off my original topic, but thanks for all the feedback guys.


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## golfmanres (Jan 3, 2002)

pallets? take them to the local Home depot or lowes, if they return them/ recycle them they get 2-5$ for them depending on the quality. So drop them off at night or ask the Store manager if it would be ok to drop them off. They are happy to get them here in virginia. normally there will be an 18 wheeler out back that you can load them into. give this a try...


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## BRL (Dec 21, 1999)

Pelican,
There are a couple of places even closer to my area also. However I think you missed the key point. I'd rather save my back for more profit making endeavours LOL, and I already had to move most of these around once or twice since the first time they were taken off the truck. So I'm just not interested in picking them up again, I think I'm starting to get old, or at least my body is LOL.

Lawn Lad,
I forgot you were using Magic, so you probably have to get your own bulk set up somewhere so you can spray your own piles, as most bulk suppliers aren't selling it. Otherwise, if you were running straight salt, I'd say just get it loaded into the truck & shovel it in. My main salting employee & myself both agree we'd rather shovel a couple of tons into the Pro Flo than deal with the bags. This has worked out well the last couple of events, as we seemed to work faster, feel less beat at the end, & my material costs were much less. I disagree with the comment about that spreader in the around 2 acre sized lots. I can out spread most of the subs I use with V-boxes. They may not be using them correctly or the most efficiently for some reason, but the Pro Flo 2 will do a better job quicker IMO. The only difference is with lots bigger than that, I'll have to load the hopper more than with a V-box. I don't balk at salting lots in the 5-6 acre range with that spreader, even though it might take me a little longer because of reloading.


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## wxmn6 (May 23, 2001)

You could donate the pallets to your local school use it as a tax write off. Some schools in the fall have big pile of pallets and stuff for homecoming bonfire. I don't know if it can be done that way but just a suggestion.


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## Lawn Lad (Feb 4, 2002)

Today some guy knocked on the door and asked what we were doing with the pallets. He hauled them for me at no cost. Didn't get anything, but I don't think it was worth the time with all the phone calls trying to find someone. I'm just happy to have them gone. 

BRL - when I said it takes too long to spread a lot, I was also keeping my gate at the 2nd bolt and spreading less material. In the storm over the weekend we opened it up and drove faster and increased in the spinner speed. It cut our application time down. This wouldn't work so well during the day though. We went through more material than normal per storm - so there is a learning curve by opening it up more, but it was faster. What I saved in labor I put out in material. Probably a wash. So short of reloading the spreader a couple of times, I'd agree, larger lots over 2 acres wouldn't be so much of an issue with the Pro Flo 2.


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## BRL (Dec 21, 1999)

"I was also keeping my gate at the 2nd bolt" 

"In the storm over the weekend we opened it up and drove faster and increased in the spinner speed."

Lawn Lad,
My Pro Flo 2 is over 5 years old. Humor me here. Your gate adjustments are in set increments? 1 bolt, 2 bolts, 3 bolts etc.? Also, how are you able to change the spinner speed?

My gat adjustment is infinitely adjustable & I can't change my spinner speed - legally LOL. Maybe they make them different now. This reminds me though, I will put a roll of bright orange electrical tape by the door so I can take it with me & mark our favorite positions for the gate openings. We should be salting tonight again. My gate adjustment is black along with everything else back there, so its real hard to see where the old marks are from previous adjustments. Basically we have 3 settings, bagged materials, decently dry bulk, and really wet & clumpy bulk. But its hard to find where the old favorite setting mark is in the middle of the night, and while I'm adjusting, there's nothing good there to mark them with at the time LOL. Thanks.


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## Lawn Lad (Feb 4, 2002)

The T bar handle that slides the gate open/closed has bolts/nuts at equal spacing. I think they are to mark/gauge the opening of the gate. But I may be wrong. I'll have to count them tonight, but I think there are at least half a dozen or so. I never measured the gate opening relative to the position of the slide bar - but that is what I use to gauge how much material is allowed to pass on the conveyor.

The speed of the spinner is set with the variable speed controller. The speed of the spinner in turn controls the speed of the conveyor - as they are linked. I like to run the until on speed setting of 7 to 8. Blast would be equivilant to setting 10 I believe.


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## BRL (Dec 21, 1999)

LOL I thought of that in the middle of the night. I have a single speed control. On, off & blast, which is on until you let go. When I bought it my dealer said he had many problems with the variable speed controls, many came back for repairs\replacement. So he suggested for tried & true reliability go with the single speed controller, and I haven't had a problem with it ever. Except now I'm jealous of the variable speed owners because maybe I'd like to change the speed once in a while too for fun  There are no bolts on or near my gate adjuster to use for guides like that, so that has changed. Mine is a big U vs the T bar you mention. But I'm glad we're talking about it here because today I will figure out a way to have markings for our favorite positions. Usually I think of it in the middle of the night while adjusting, and there isn't time or anything to mark it with then LOL.


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## D&S ServicesNJ (Feb 9, 2003)

yea i bet if u put them out by the street and put a free sign on them they would eventually all diaspear


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## cos (Aug 18, 2000)

Great kindling wood for the fireplace or wood stove!!!! Plus you can just burn them instead of the firewood just to get rid of them. They wood go up quick but problem solved.


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