Material handling products made with sustainable material
Sustainable material handling products such as pallets and crates are necessary to move consumer and industrial goods. As more companies take a closer look at improving their sustainability practices, material handling has come under increased scrutiny. Although it is estimated that more than 90% of wooden pallets are recycled in the USA, an estimated 50% of the annual U.S. hardwood harvest is dedicated to their production.
Further, the ability to reuse plastic pallets and crates many times over is frequently cited as a reason to invest in them. Yet they too have potential drawbacks, including cost, carbon emissions and the energy required to mold each pallet.
Several manufacturers are making pallets and crates made from alternative materials or hybrid combinations of typical materials. These unique products offer a variety of sustainability advantages—and other benefits of sustainable material. Often these benefits come at a compromise in terms or either cost, durability or limitations on their load carrying capacity.
At Spectalite, our biocomposites are made with crop-waste and fast-renewables from farm, factory and forest. These do not result in tree felling and hence preserve biodiversity. Further, this approach creates a positive socio-economic impact while addressing the ecological problem fundamentally.
Sustainable material pallets and crates made with our biocomposites carry better strength and stiffness compared to traditional plastics, offering better load carrying capacity. Since the biocomposites are made with crop-waste they offer much better advantages around sustainability, including reduced carbon footprint and conserving resources. The biocomposites are thermoplastic in nature and hence they can be recycled after a much longer usage, like plastic pallets are.
The sustainable material pallets are tested to hold payload up-to 1 Ton in a real life warehouse across static, dynamic and edge rackable conditions. If higher load bearing capacity is needed, this can be engineered with a new product design that delivers desired results.
