Advice on making pallet compost bins: where to find pallets

10 years ago

Anybody know any tricks to getting some pallets to make a bin? I've called every big and small grocery store nearby but they don't seem to want to come of with any pallets? Where did you get yours? And where could I look?

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Comments (8)

lm13
10 years ago
Try Craigslist. I've seen businesses post pallets on the "Free" page pretty often.
Kimmsr
10 years ago
Grocery stores are probably not the best place to look for pallets since most of the pallets they get must be food safe and therefore expensive. Look for pallets at nurseries or any of the so called dollar stores or other businesses that recieve non edible products in large quantities.
Keep in mind that to keep from having these items pile up many of these stores may have a contract with a company that makes mulch to haul them away.
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Comments (7)
I'm planning on doing a pallet project or two as well. Since I drive around a lot for work, I try to keep my eyes peeled, especially in manufacturing/industrial areas. I so far, though, have been too shy to go up and ask for any. I've, ummm, liberated two so far, but sometimes it's hard to tell if they are discarding them or just "stacking" them outside (kinda near the dumpster). Interestingly, though, driving with my mom today, we spotted two pallets at the curb in front of houses. i guess people are doing their spring cleaning maybe? They were both on the same block, and since my mom was driving her big stupid suv, we stopped and grabbed them. They were both pretty big and probably would've never fit into my little toyota. So, since fate just dropped them into my lap, i figure i'll have to start building something really soon. Once you start looking, you'll see them everywhere
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I also am in the process of builing a picket fence from pallets. I also have in the past seen gorgeous kitchen cabinets made from pallet wood. I hit the motherlode 2 days ago when I found a place that makes pallets in the town 7 miles north of me. I called them and they said they have stacks of pallets I can have as many of them as I want from these stacks. And to let you know how big the stacks are, I was 2 blocks away from the company on a main street and noticed them. There are thousands upon thousands to choose from. I will make my picket fence, and my composter, and my greenhouse and my new kitchen cabinets, and as many craft projects as I can come up with to recycle these pallets. I also found a great resource at the dump we have a salt plant in that same town 7 miles north and they have the cardboard salt containers we all are familiar with, 3 inches across the base and 6 inches tall approximately. I have cut them in half to use for my seedlings. They are by the thousands too. Now to find something else to do with them. Any ideas will be appreciated.
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Comments (16)
Paint n trim covers a lot of poor carpentry :-) It's not 100% pallet boards, but lots of pallet wood went in to this. I disassembled a few pallets and used the 2'x4's & 1'x3's for framing. We did buy one piece of T1-11 siding (approx $20)to cover our hen house portion so it would look more presentable. The paint is 'oops' paint that we got for next to nothin (nobody knows or cares that the backside is a slightly different shade of gray than the front and that the inside is a pale yellow) We have 4 chickens and have enjoyed them thoroughly. I can't figure out how to get the photos to show up in my reply, but a link can be found below. Here is a link that might be useful: chicken coop
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Comments (15)
Even though this original post is old the problems of this nature exist all over the mainland as well as Hawaii where 90% of everyday goods are imported. So there is no practical way to ship 10% out with 90% coming in. The challenge is to think of ways to recycle things locally and use locally but our global economy continues to defy this. I am a garden center manager in Texas now but lived in Hawaii for 10 years so I understand the situation there first hand. I give my extra pallets away so they won't go in the landfill. Over the last year this has worked well overall. I am trying to do the same for surplus cardboard (offering it for free to customers for mulching, lasagne gardening, whatever use people can think of instead seeing it all go in the waste stream. Some of my growers get beer flats that they send their 1 gallon plants in and if I can remove them before they get wet, I send them back out the door with purchased plants. How many ways can you think of to reuse something that ends up in the trash is one less thing thrown away and added to a landfill. We all need to look to do our part in more ways when we can. Think outside the box or pallet as it were:) Happy Growing David
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david52 Zone 6
10 years ago
Cruise around the alleys behind shops, behind strip shopping malls. There's usually a bazillion behind any Walmart - just don't take the ones painted blue.....
west9491
Original Author
10 years ago
Yeah,n those are called 'CHEP' pallets around here and they are pretty costly. What's bad is that I work at a food service warehouse, we got pallets stacked for miles, but I'm pretty sure these people are the least likely to want to get rid of them.

Ill try clist and some dollar stores.
robertz6
10 years ago
Know anyone that works at a manufacturing plant, utility company, hospital, distribution center? They should have a number of different types of pallets.

If you see a construction dumpster that you have access to, one often can find enough wood to build a project.
gjcore
10 years ago
I would be careful selecting pallets to use and try to find clean heat treated ones. They would be marked with "HT".

Pallets are usually treated with a variety of chemicals or they could have been spilled upon during commercial use.
springtogarden
10 years ago
Thanks, gjcore! I keep seeing pallets being used for gardening but no one talks about which ones to choose. I remember hearing about the chemicals but wasn't sure which. I will remember this when I try this out :).
jen1996
10 years ago
Be careful with Pallets.
Many have been chemically treated
http://www.naturallifemagazine.com/1206/reusing_wooden_pallets.htm

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Advice on making pallet compost bins: where to find pallets

Comments (8)

lm13

Kimmsr

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west9491
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Advice on making pallet compost bins: where to find pallets

Comments (8)

lm13

Kimmsr

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david52 Zone 6

west9491Original Author

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