Plastic lumber (pallets)
Also called: recycled plastic lumber, extruded plastic lumber, plastic profile
Plastic lumber is solid or hollow plastic profiles, usually extruded HDPE or rigid PVC and often recycled, cut and fastened like wood boards. Pallets built from it can be made to any size without a mold.
In depth: Plastic lumber pallet: built like wood from HDPE boards
A plastic lumber pallet is built like a wood stringer or block pallet, but from plastic boards. Because there is no mold, the design is fully parametric: any footprint, board count or spacing a wood pallet could have.
Typical characteristics
| Feature | Plastic lumber pallets |
|---|---|
| Materials | HDPE, rigid PVC, or wood-plastic composite profiles |
| Fastening | Screws (often stainless) or bolts; nails hold poorly |
| Tooling | None |
| Minimum order | Small; one maker advertises minimums around 15 units |
| Sizes | Custom; one maker lists about 19 to 120 in (0.5 to 3 m) |
| ISPM 15 | Exempt |
Vendor figures are indicative.
Why it matters
Plastic lumber gives a washable, rot-proof, ISPM 15-exempt pallet in a custom size at low volume, which molded plastic cannot. The trade-off is stiffness: HDPE is far less stiff than wood and creeps under sustained load, so plastic-lumber pallets need thicker boards or closer supports and can sag in racks. They are also heavier and more expensive than a wood pallet of the same size. The pallet.design plastic lumber template uses 3/4 in boards and screws.
On a spec sheet
Specify it like a wood pallet (component sizes, counts, spacing), plus profile material, solid or hollow, color, fastener type, and the load and support conditions.
Related
- TypesPlastic lumber pallet: built like wood from HDPE boardsA plastic lumber pallet is assembled from extruded plastic boards, usually HDPE, in the same stringer or block layouts as a wooden pallet and fastened with screws or nails. It needs no mold, so any size is possible in small quantities. It is ISPM 15 exempt, rot-proof and heavier than wood.
- TypesPlastic lumber pallet: built like wood from HDPE boardsA plastic lumber pallet is assembled from extruded plastic boards, usually HDPE, in the same stringer or block layouts as a wooden pallet and fastened with screws or nails. It needs no mold, so any size is possible in small quantities. It is ISPM 15 exempt, rot-proof and heavier than wood.
- GlossaryHDPE (high-density polyethylene)HDPE (high-density polyethylene) is the most common resin for plastic pallets. It stays tough at low temperatures, which suits freezers and cold chains, but it is less stiff than polypropylene, which matters for rack deflection.
- GlossaryScrew (pallet fastener)A screw is a threaded fastener turned into the wood rather than driven. On pallets, deck screws, lag screws and washer-head self-drilling screws are used for heavy skids, plastic lumber pallets and designs that must be taken apart or repaired.
- TypesPlastic pallets: types, materials, load ratings and how to buy themA plastic pallet is a molded or fabricated pallet made from HDPE or polypropylene. Types range from light nestable pallets (about 14–30 lb) to reinforced rackable pallets (about 35–70 lb). They are washable, ISPM 15 exempt and long-lived, cost several times more than wood, and carry three separate load ratings.
More in Materials
- GlossaryBark (on pallet lumber)Bark is the outer layer of a tree trunk. ISPM 15 requires wood packaging to be made from debarked wood, allowing only small remnants: pieces under 3 cm wide of any length, or wider pieces with a surface area under 50 cm².
- GlossaryCant (pallet lumber)A cant is a log that has been sawn flat on two or four sides. In the pallet industry it usually means the low-grade center of a hardwood log, left after grade lumber is cut from the outside, which is resawn into pallet parts.
- GlossaryComposite block (pallet)A composite block is a pallet block made from wood chips, particles or fibers bonded with resin under heat and pressure. It does not split like solid wood and, as processed wood, is exempt from ISPM 15 on its own.
- GlossaryCorrugated fiberboard (pallets and slip sheets)Corrugated fiberboard is a board made of a fluted paper medium glued between flat paper liners. It is used for boxes, and in pallet work for corrugated paper pallets, slip sheets, tier sheets and pallet runners.
- GlossaryCut stock (pallet components)Cut stock is lumber already sawn to the finished thickness, width and length of pallet parts, such as 5/8 × 3-1/2 × 40 in deckboards, ready for nailing. It is also called pallet stock or shook.
- GlossaryDouglas-fir (pallet lumber)Douglas-fir is a dense, strong softwood from western North America, also grown in Europe. It is species class 11 (Douglas-fir–larch) in the Uniform Standard and PDS, and class 33 in the European species list.
Last reviewed 2026-09-24. 227 words.