At Kamps Pallets, pallet recycling and environmental stewardship is our priority.
In 2020, Kamps Pallets recycled over 70,000,000 pallets. These efforts saved over 3.5 million trees, 1.4 million tons of landfill waste, and 1.9 million metric tons of CO2 emissions. While we look forward to another record-breaking pallet recycling year in 2021, for Earth Day this year we are highlighting our entire sustainable pallet cycle.
Kamps Sustainable Pallet Cycle
Wooden pallets have the potential to be the most sustainable form of packaging.
Through our Sustainable Pallet Cycle, we ensure that every product or service we provide to our customers is environmentally conscious. From our expertly repaired pallets to our remanufactured pallets, our customers receive the best quality and care while making our planet more green with every pallet used.
Step 1: New Pallet
Kamps builds new pallets from lumber sourced from sawmills that harvest wood from dense forests. Using this lumber also helps build healthy forests by utilizing trees that must be removed – protecting forests from wildfire, invasive species, and disease.
Source: NWPCA, American Forest Foundation
Step 2: Reconditioned Pallet
Once a pallet has been used many times and is starting to not perform as intended, our experts perform repairs such as inserting companion plugs and staples to extend the pallet’s life. Not only does this stage save trees and landfill waste, it also releases the least amount of greenhouse gas emissions (carbon) and contributes only 7.5% of total Global Warming Potential (GWP) of the entire lifecycle of a pallet. For reference, 92% of GWP in a pallet’s life-cycle can be attributed solely to new pallets [This data is based on research released in the Wooden Pallets EPD by the NWPCA].
Source: NWPCA, Pallet Foundation, U.S. Forest Product Lab
Step 3: Remanufactured Pallet
Kamps dismantles odd-size pallets and harvests their components to build remanufactured pallets of all sizes. We call this “Harvesting Urban Lumber” and through the remanufacturing process give pallets an extra opportunity to fulfill a purpose in our customers’ supply chain.
Step 4: Wood Resource Solutions
Once a pallet reaches its end of life, our Wood Resource Solutions team will grind it into products such as mulch and CushionWood™. According to the Wood Pallets EPD, this stage has the potential to offset all greenhouse gas emissions and Global Warming Potential of a pallet’s lifecycle.
Source: NWPCA, Pallet Foundation, U.S. Forest Product Lab
Video Overview of Our Sustainable Pallet Cycle
Step 1: New Pallet
Step 2: Reconditioned Pallet
Step 3: Remanufactured Pallet
Step 4: Wood Resource Solutions
The Wooden Pallets EPD Role in Our Sustainable Pallet Cycle
Last year, The NWPCA released an Environmental Product Declaration that contained a life-cycle assessment of the wooden pallet – from cradle to grave.
At Kamps, we have taken the results of the EPD and used it in conjunction with our Sustainable Pallet Cycle to give our customers quantifiable data on the potential impact each stage of our cycle can have on the environment.
Sustainable Pallet Cycle Infographic [Click to Enlarge]
