While pallets are traditionally made from woods, plastics and metals, you can also buy corrugated cardboard pallets. If you are shipping or storing lighter loads, then cardboard is a viable option. It has some advantages over traditional materials. What are they?
1. Reduced Carrier Costs
If you ship products on pallets, then the pallets themselves add to your shipping costs. If you use a heavy pallet made from wood or steel, then you pay more to ship your loads.
This can be a particular problem if you use air freight where weight is more of an issue. The heavier your load, the more air transport costs. You might revert back to sea or road freight if your costs are too high even if this increases your shipping times.
Conversely, cardboard is much lighter than wood, metals and even plastics. It doesn't add significant weight to a load. As such, you can use more expensive freight options without increasing your costs too much. For example, shipping goods on cardboard pallets by air will be a lot cheaper than if you used wooden pallets.
2. Smaller Storage Footprint
If you store pallets on-site, then you need to find space for them. This isn't always easy. Even folding pallets need space on the floor. You might not be able to store too many heavy pallets on top of each other.
However, flat-packed cardboard pallets that you assemble yourself take up less room. You can stack more of them at once as they are so light. As a result, you can benefit from economies of scale by buying in bulk without any storage worries.
3. Complete Recyclability
While other pallet materials have some recyclability, they aren't always the most sustainable solution. For example, wood pallets aren't always recyclable. If the pallets have been treated, then they might contain chemicals that mean that the wood can't go through a recycling process. Plus, these pallets deplete tree stocks. While they might be recyclable at the end of their working lives, their manufacture causes some problems.
Cardboard pallets, however, are completely recyclable. Once you're done with a pallet, its recycling process is quick and simple. All of the material can be completely re-used over and over again. This means that if you buy cardboard pallets that are made from recycled materials, then you get a more complete solution. You fit into a cycle of re-using materials without depleting resources. This is a much greener option.
To find out more about cardboard pallets and how they could improve your storage and shipping processes, contact your pallets supplier.