Built by us
Two tools that do actual work
Both run entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is stored, and neither asks for an email address.
Signature tool
Reclaim Impact Calculator
Enter a pallet volume and see the CO₂e avoided, landfill diverted, trees not felled and money saved — with the arithmetic shown, not hidden.
Open the toolSignature tool
IPPC Stamp Decoder
Type the code from any pallet stamp and read back the country, facility, treatment method and whether the mark is actually valid.
Open the tool
Comparisons and guides
Four decisions, worked through properly
Each one takes a question buyers actually argue about and answers it with numbers, including where the answer goes against us.
Comparison
Recycled vs new pallets
A direct comparison of recycled and new wood pallets: price, load capacity, service life, appearance, compliance and carbon footprint, with numbers.
Read the guideComparison
Wood vs plastic
Wood versus plastic pallets compared on cost per trip, hygiene, weight, fire load, repairability and carbon, with break-even trips calculated.
Read the guideBuyer's guide
What a pallet costs, and the five things that move it
How pallet pricing actually works: current ranges by grade and size, the five factors that move price, freight break points, and how to buy well.
Read the guideCompliance guide
ISPM-15 explained, including the parts that stop containers
ISPM-15 in plain English: what it covers, how heat treatment works, how to read an IPPC stamp, exemptions, repair rules, and what stops containers.
Read the guideStart here
A route through all of it, by job
Forty-odd pages is a lot to walk into cold. These are the paths we would actually suggest depending on what you are trying to do.
Running a warehouse or a fleet
Shipping internationally
Building a sustainability case
Cheat sheet
Sixteen numbers worth memorising
If you retain nothing else from this site, retain these. Each one answers a question that comes up weekly.
| Number | What it is | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 48 x 40 in | The GMA standard footprint | ~30% of US pallets; two fit across a 53' trailer |
| 92.5 in | Internal width of a 40 ft container | Two 48-inch pallets need 96 and do not fit |
| 56°C / 30 min | ISPM-15 heat treatment | Core temperature, held continuously |
| 6 mm | ISPM-15 thickness threshold | Below it, wood packaging is exempt |
| ~33% | Racked capacity as a share of static | The rating that decides safety |
| 40–60% | Capacity lost racking a pallet rotated | Beams must support the stringers |
| ~32% | Case strength lost to 2 in of overhang | The most common cause of transit damage |
| 30–50% | Freight share of landed pallet cost | The lever nobody negotiates |
| 450 | Units where per-unit freight stops climbing | Fill the trailer before cutting the price |
| 500–560 | Empty stacked pallets per 53' trailer | Sets your delivery economics |
| 25–40 | Round trips for plastic to beat wood | And only with a low loss rate |
| $2.20–4.80 | Cost of repairing a pallet | Against $11–$16 to replace it |
| 11–18 kg | CO₂e to build one new wood pallet | Against 0.4–1.6 kg to recover one |
| 9–14 kg | CO₂e released landfilling one | Methane, not CO₂ — far worse |
| 8–18% | Typical Q4 recycled price swing | Plan in Q3, not in November |
| 2 weeks | Time to baseline a pallet fleet | The highest-return fortnight available |
Questions
Using these resources
Do I have to give you an email address to use any of this?
No. Both tools run entirely in your browser, nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and there is no download gate on any guide. Every figure and every page is readable without an account. If the answer is useful, it is already on the page.
Where should I start if I am buying pallets for the first time?
The pricing guide, then the grades page, then the size guide — in that order. Price only makes sense once you know which grade you are pricing, and grade only makes sense once the footprint is settled. That is three pages and about fifteen minutes.
Are the numbers in the impact calculator ones I can cite?
Yes, and the arithmetic is shown rather than hidden. The emissions factors are published ranges rather than single values, so the calculator returns a range too. If you need the sources for a sustainability report, the sustainability page lists them.
How often are the guides and journal articles updated?
The compliance pages are checked whenever IPPC or ISPM-15 guidance changes. Pricing figures are revised at least twice a year because the recycled market moves seasonally. Every article carries its publication and last-modified date so you can judge how current it is.
What if my question is not answered anywhere on the site?
Send it. We answer written questions within one working day, and if the question comes up more than twice we write it into the FAQ or the journal. Most of what is on this page started as somebody's email.
Reference
Look something up
Reference
Frequently asked questions
Thirty-plus answers covering buying, selling, grades, compliance, freight and recycling.
OpenReference
Pallet glossary
Forty-two trade terms defined the way they are used on a yard, not in a dictionary.
OpenReference
Pallet size guide
Fifteen footprints with metric conversions, trailer fit and container arithmetic.
OpenJournal
The Reclaim Journal
32 field notes and deep dives on pallet economics, compliance, materials and logistics.
Open