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Recycling and the Use of Wood Materials by the U.S. Pallet Industry

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Estimates of the use of new and recycled wood materials by the U.S. pallet industry are presented. The industry (including SICs 2441, 2448, 2449) consumed 4.74 billion board feet of solid hardwoods and 2.15 billion board feet of solid softwoods in 1992. The most common individual hardwood species were oak and yellow-poplar. Douglas-fir and southern yellow pine were the most commonly used softwoods. Approximately 65.8 million pallets (containing an estimated 1.03 billion board feet) were received for recycling in 1992 by firms included in SIC 2448. Of this total, 912 million board feet were used again in a pallet. The unlagged industry recycling rate for pallets was estimated at 13 percent in 1992 and 16 percent in 1993.

Citation

Bush, Robert J.; Hansen, Eric; Araman, Philip A. 1994. Recycling and the Use of Wood Materials by the U.S. Pallet Industry. Proceedings, 1994 Forest Products Society Southeastern Section Workshop on Environmental Quality in Wood Processing. 46-50.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/427