Wooden pallets are still the staple of the shipping industry when it comes to storage and transportation. Having said that, with every passing day, more and more organizations are waking up to the realization that plastic pallets have substantial advantages over wooden pallets and that they are the future of shipping.
In this blog, we discuss in some details why plastic pallets are ideal for shipping.
No ISPM-15 Certification required
Wooden pallets that are used for international shipping have to be compliant with ISPM-15 certification. This is because wooden pallets serve as breeding ground for fungi, bacteria, and mold that can lead to hygiene issues and spread diseases. To prevent the latter, all wooden pallets that are being used for international shipping have to be stamped by the proper authorities. Pallets that are non-compliant can be held up at international ports and prevented entry. In some cases, they may even be destroyed.
Since plastic pallets do not catch mold or fungi, they are not required to comply with similar international standards.
Not only does this save shipping costs for the manufacturers but also saves a lot of time in transportation since they do not have be reviewed repeatedly at check-points.
Cost-effective
Plastic pallets are more inexpensive than wooden pallets for a number of reasons.
Since plastic pallets are lighter than wooden pallets, they cost less in terms of shipping fees when being transported especially across international waters.
Plastic pallets are substantially more durable than wooden pallets. While the latter has a life-cycle of around 3 times which means it can usually be used on 3 consecutive transportation or storage assignments before it has to be discarded, plastic pallets have a life-cycle of about 50 times. This explains why, in spite of the fact that the initial cost of purchasing plastic pallets is higher than wooden pallets, the former turns out to be the more cost-effective option in the long run.
Safer to use
Wooden pallets have a propensity to splinter. They are more fragile than plastic pallets and are more prone to breakage. This creates a hazard for personnel who handle wooden pallets. Broken or splintered wooden pallets can cause injury or even cause accidents. Furthermore, wooden pallets that are infested with bacteria or mold can cause infections to any open wounds suffered during handling them.
Can be cleaned easily and reused
Wooden pallets cannot be cleaned with water for obvious reasons. Water will contaminate wood to provide a breeding ground for mold and fungi which in turn will lead to the spread of diseases. Compared to that, plastic pallets can be easily cleaned with a water hose and reused readily.
From the aforementioned points, it is clear that when it comes to transportation and storage in shipping, plastic pallets enjoy enviable advantages over wooden pallets. This explains why the former is gaining more and more foothold across multiple manufacturing industries and is expected to grow by leaps and bounds in the near future.
So, if you are looking for the best plastic pallets for shipping, feel free to visit http://plasticpalletsltd.co.uk/pallets/.
Plastic Pallets 