Frequently asked questions

Our yard is at 7240 S Access Rd, Columbus, OH 43217, on the south side of Columbus just off the I-270 outerbelt and minutes from the Rickenbacker logistics cluster. Visitors are welcome during yard hours.

Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Saturday 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Closed Sunday. Scheduled programme collections can be arranged outside those hours by agreement.

Because we do not have one. The yard runs on email — everything ends up in writing, quotes do not get misheard, and nobody waits on hold. Write to info@repalletsohio.com or use any form on this site and a person reads it.

Most quotes go out the same working day. Anything requiring a custom build or a site visit takes longer, and we tell you that in the first reply rather than going quiet.

Our own trucks cover Ohio. For adjacent states we arrange contract freight on truckload quantities. Beyond that we will usually recommend a local yard, because long-haul freight on pallets rarely makes economic sense.

Yes, and we encourage it before a first order. Seeing Grade A and Grade B side by side settles more questions in five minutes than any amount of email.

On comparable 48x40 stock, reclaimed Grade A typically runs 30 to 40 percent below a new build, and Grade B runs 45 to 60 percent below. The gap widens on odd sizes, because a new odd-size pallet has to be manufactured while a reclaimed one only has to be found.

For secondary and tertiary packaging in dry goods, yes, and most food manufacturers in Ohio run reclaimed wood without issue. For direct food contact, wash-down environments or pharmaceutical handling we would steer you toward plastic pallets or new heat-treated wood instead.

Grade A reclaimed pallets with original unrepaired stringers can be racked, subject to your own rack engineering sign-off. Grade B should be floor stacked or block stacked. If racking is the primary use, say so on the quote form and we will pull stock accordingly.

Every core is inspected by hand under natural light. Protruding fasteners are pulled, visibly moldy or wet stock is rejected at intake, and anything showing chemical staining or unidentified residue is removed from the recoverable stream and ground rather than resold.

It depends entirely on the duty. A reclaimed Grade B pallet used for one-way outbound shipping does one trip by definition. The same pallet in a closed internal loop, stored indoors and handled carefully, commonly runs for dozens of cycles before needing repair. Storage conditions matter more than initial grade for total life.

Yes, and most operations should. The usual split is new for appearance-critical and audited lanes, reclaimed Grade A for racking, and reclaimed Grade B for everything else. The only real risk is handling staff assuming the racking rules apply to every pallet in the building.

They are guaranteed to match the written grade definition they were sold under. If a load does not match, tell us and we collect it and replace or credit it. We do not warrant a number of trips, because that depends on your handling, your loads and your storage rather than on the pallet.

Recycled is the umbrella term. Reconditioned usually means inspected and repaired back to a defined grade, which is what we sell. Remanufactured means dismantled and rebuilt from recovered components, which produces a pallet to a chosen specification from reclaimed lumber rather than a repaired original.

Not by default, and they do not need to be for domestic use. Qualifying reclaimed pallets can be heat treated and stamped for export — it is usually the lowest-cost route to ISPM-15 compliant stock. See our heat treating service.

It needs planning. Banded stacks of fifteen weigh several hundred pounds and cannot be handled manually. Sites without a forklift usually need a truck with a tail lift and a pallet jack, smaller stack heights, or delivery to a nearby facility. Tell us at quotation rather than at delivery.

One banded stack of fifteen for customer pickup at the Columbus yard, or a partial truckload for delivery in Central Ohio. Long-distance deliveries generally need a full or near-full load to make freight economics work.

Yes, and we encourage it on a first order. Come to 7240 S Access Rd during yard hours, look at the grades side by side, and decide which one your operation actually needs.

Standing customers with regular volume can be set up on terms after a short account process. First orders are prepaid or cash on delivery.

In-stock reclaimed pallets in Central Ohio frequently go out next business day. New builds run five to eight working days, and custom runs seven to twelve.

No, and any yard that does is quoting a worst case. Price is built from footprint, grade, volume per drop, cadence and distance. Give us those and you get a firm number the same working day, held for fourteen days.

Yes, during yard hours at 7240 S Access Rd. Minimum is one banded stack of fifteen. Bring straps and something that can take several hundred pounds per stack.

In-stock reclaimed stock in Central Ohio frequently goes out next business day. New builds run five to eight working days and custom seven to twelve — rush work is possible and priced at a fair premium rather than a punitive one.

Yes, though less than new-pallet prices do. Reclaimed availability peaks in the first quarter and tightens in late summer. The pattern is explained in [the pallet year in Ohio](/blog/seasonal-demand-ohio).

It depends on footprint, condition, sorting and volume. Sorted whole 48x40 GMA cores earn the most; mixed odd-size loads earn less but still have value. We quote firm per core in writing rather than publishing a number that would be wrong for most loads.

No, but sorting increases what you earn. If you can stage 48x40s separately from everything else and keep broken pallets in their own stack, the quote improves.

In Central Ohio we will look at anything from about forty pallets. Below that, collection cost outweighs core value, though we can often fold small volumes into a scheduled route.

Usually within a few working days in Central Ohio. Elsewhere in the state, collection follows our scheduled lanes, typically within a week.

Payment is on agreed terms rather than cash at the gate. For ongoing relationships most customers take the value as a credit against pallet purchases, which is simpler for both sides and avoids two sets of paperwork.

The count is made physically on the ground with your representative present, before anyone signs, and discrepancies are photographed and resolved there. That is the whole reason the process works that way — see [why we count on the ground](/blog/why-we-count-on-the-ground).

It depends on how long and how well. Covered, off the ground and stacked square, usually yes. Uncovered through an Ohio winter, often not — the value has largely gone into the ground with the water.

Yes. Multi-site collection is one of the main reasons operations move to a managed programme, because it consolidates scheduling, reporting and invoicing into one relationship.

In most of Central Ohio, yes, for standard-size, stacked, accessible and recoverable pallets. Long hauls, contaminated or wet wood, and small odd-size volumes can carry a service fee, which we quote before scheduling.

About forty in Central Ohio. Smaller volumes can often be folded into an existing scheduled route, so it is worth asking rather than assuming.

For scheduled programmes, yes, subject to site access arrangements. Ad-hoc after-hours collection is harder and generally carries a premium.

Yes. Broken pallets are dismantled for component lumber and ground for mulch and biomass. Nothing goes to landfill. Heavily contaminated stock may carry a disposal cost.

Usually within a few working days in Central Ohio. Elsewhere in Ohio collection follows our scheduled lanes, typically within a week. Urgent clearances can sometimes be fitted in — ask rather than assume.

Yes, subject to access. Retail sites often have restricted delivery windows and limited turning room, so the practical constraint is usually the vehicle rather than the volume.

Yes — per-collection records covering count, estimated tonnage, the recovery split and landfill tonnage. Programme customers get period summaries as well.

That is normal for retail and light manufacturing. We need dock or door access and a route the equipment can use. Tell us at quotation so the right vehicle and equipment are scheduled.

Grade A has original unrepaired stringers and seven or more top deck boards. Grade B may have one repaired or companion stringer and replaced boards. Grade A can be racked; Grade B should be floor or block stacked.

No enforced industry-wide standard exists in North America. Grade terminology varies between yards, which is why any grade should be defined in writing before you order.

We do not recommend it. A companion stringer restores most but not all of the original span strength, and racking loads a pallet in the least forgiving way possible. Use Grade A, with your own rack engineering sign-off.

Unsorted used pallets as received from a generator, before grading. They are the raw material of a pallet yard rather than a finished product, and buying them for end use means buying everything that will fail alongside everything that will not.

They are the older names for Grade A and Grade B. #1 has original unrepaired stringers and full deck coverage; #2 may have a repaired stringer and replaced boards. The terms are used interchangeably.

Yes. Frames or #3 are structurally sound but heavily worn with minimal deck, bought for dismantling or very low-value one-way use. Below that is unsorted cores, which is not a grade at all but the ungraded pool.

Less than handling and storage do. A Grade A pallet stored outdoors uncovered through a winter will outlive a Grade B kept indoors by very little, and may not outlive it at all.

A standard 48x40 pallet typically holds around 4,600 pounds static, 2,800 pounds dynamic and 1,800 pounds racked. The racked figure is the one that matters in most warehouses and it is the smallest of the three.

Static capacity is the load carried at rest on a flat supporting floor. Dynamic capacity is the load carried while the pallet is being moved by a forklift, when the deck is in bending and subject to shock. Dynamic is typically half of static.

Grade A reclaimed pallets with original unrepaired stringers can be racked subject to your own rack engineering sign-off. Grade B, with a repaired or companion stringer, should be floor or block stacked instead.

Considerably. Carton stacks carry most of their compression strength in the corners, so an overhanging corner is an unsupported corner. Overhang is one of the most common causes of bottom-layer crush damage on otherwise well-built loads.

There is no universal figure, because it depends on construction, condition, load distribution, duration and support. Start from the racked rating for the specific build, derate for duration and point loading, and get engineering sign-off for anything heavy or overhead.

Published figures generally incorporate a margin, but the margin is not standardised and it does not account for your load distribution, your storage duration or the pallet's condition. Treat published figures as planning inputs rather than as limits.

Block stacking loads the bottom pallet with the full column above it, and that is a sustained load, so creep applies. It is generally a more forgiving mode than racking because the pallet is fully supported underneath.

Visible deck sag between stringers, stringer bowing, and fasteners working proud are all signs. By the time they are obvious, the pallet has already been overloaded for some time.

International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15, a standard published by the International Plant Protection Convention governing the treatment of wood packaging material used in international trade.

No. ISPM-15 applies to international shipments. Domestic US movements require no mark, and buying treated stock for domestic lanes is unnecessary cost.

No. A treated and marked pallet remains compliant indefinitely, unless it is repaired with untreated wood, in which case it must be re-treated and re-marked.

No. Kiln drying removes moisture for dimensional stability. Heat treatment is a phytosanitary process defined by core temperature and hold time. Only heat treatment with a registered mark satisfies ISPM-15.

Commercially it usually falls on the shipper, because the shipper controls what goes into the container. A treatment provider is responsible for treating and marking correctly and for retaining records, which is a narrower obligation than most people assume.

No. The standard is common but enforcement intensity, documentation requirements and inspection rates vary considerably. Your freight forwarder is the right party to confirm destination specifics.

No. The mark identifies the registered treatment facility. Applying it yourself is counterfeiting a compliance mark, which is a serious matter quite apart from the shipment being stopped.

Frequently not. If your stream is clean, standard-size and accessible, the core value typically covers collection and often leaves a payment to you. Contaminated, wet or very low-volume streams may carry a service fee, which we quote before scheduling.

Yes. We supply per-collection and period summaries covering tonnage, the reuse-repair-grind split, landfill tonnage and estimated CO2e avoided, with the calculation method published openly.

They are dismantled on a band saw. Usable deck boards and stringers are recovered and resold, the remainder is ground for mulch and biomass fuel, and fasteners are magnet-recovered as scrap steel.

We handle wood packaging: pallets, crates, skids, dunnage and collars. We do not handle general waste, film or cardboard, and mixing them into a pallet load will reduce what the load is worth.

Frequently not. A clean, standard-size, accessible stream usually covers collection through core value and often leaves a payment to you. Contaminated, wet or very low-volume streams may carry a fee, quoted before we schedule.

From counts and typical unit masses, cross-checked against weighbridge records where a load is weighed. We state which method produced a figure rather than presenting an estimate as a measurement.

Yes. Site clearances, plant closures and backlog piles are all normal work. Send an approximate count and photographs — condition after a long period outdoors drives whether it is a payment or a fee.

Yes — crates, boxes, skids, dunnage, blocking, collars, cable drums and reels. Anything solid wood packaging, provided it is not treated beyond ISPM-15, painted or contaminated.