Pallets rather than purchasing them is another way to practice supply chain management for the circular economy. Renting pallets puts the responsibility for managing and replacing pallets in the hands of a third party specialist who is able to track, retrieve, repair, and recycle pallets in a much more efficient way than if the same assets were managed in-house.
Pallet pooling supports a circular economy because it’s a true circular model, one of a relative few being actively used in business. Both wood block pallets (which are sturdier and more reusable than basic stringer pallets) and plastic pallets can be rented through an efficient, circular pallet pool model; however, plastic pallets are even more durable than block pallets and are better suited for the circular economy. Instead of ending up in landfills, high-quality plastic pallets can be recycled into new pallets at the end of their long useful lives (a strong plastic pallet can make up to 100 trips through the supply chain, far more than a wood pallet’s typical 15 to 20 trips). Any supply chain manager who wishes to build a closed-loop supply chain should consider the low-waste, cost-saving model of plastic pallet pooling.