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What you need to know before recycling or up-cycling wood pallets

Before you jump on the trend of using wooden pallets in your home or garden, there are important things you need to know.
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Before you jump on the trend of using wooden pallets in your home or garden, you need to know where they came from and how they were used.

“(I)t’s very important to check to see if there are any parasites living in those pallets before you put them in your home and garden. These bugs can be very invasive and really ruin your good times with infestation,” said a report from RealFarmacy.com.

Pallet manufacturers must heat-treat or fumigate pallets made in the U.S. and Canada, the report said, and then stamp them with the International Plant Protection Convention logo.

“To meet IPPC standards, a pallet cannot be made of raw wood that has not been treated,” said a post on diyready.com.

What you need to know before recycling or up-cycling wood pallets

Look for the letters “MB” stamped on the pallet, to indicate it was fumigated with a toxic insecticide called methyl bromide; or the letters “HT” which means they were kiln-dried or heat-treated.

The letters “KD” can indicate the lumber was kiln-dried according to 1001pallets.com, which offers ideas for acquiring, recycling and up-cycling wood pallets. The letters “DB” indicate the pallet was debarked, but it is not a safety indicator, the site said.

The use of methyl bromide was banned as an acceptable treatment under IPPC standards in March 2010, but you could still find pallets treated with it, diyready.com said, adding, “If you see the letters MB stamped on a pallet, do not use it.”

What you need to know before recycling or up-cycling wood pallets

“The wood can absorb dangerous chemicals, bacteria, or unsanitary conditions it may have been exposed to while the pallet was being shipped,” RealFarmacy said. They recommended cleaning the entire pallet with an eco-friendly cleaner.

Avoid colored pallets, in general, because they are often used by the pool industry and could contain chemicals such as formaldehyde and other resins.

Pallets with no markings “are likely safe, as most are not treated with chemicals. However, it is better to be careful. We recommend that you use pallets with stamps, as you can trace where they came from and know how they were treated,” according to diyready.com.

If you want to avoid possible risks associated with using recycled pallets, you could also consider buying them new from shipping supply company such as Uline.

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