The clear desk
Pallet removal for Orlando docks, stores and back lots
ORLANDO — Clearing pallets means getting a stack out of a yard, dock or back lot, and there are three routes: pickup, recycling and disposal. The route depends on whether anything in the stack can be reused, repaired or ground.
Three routes out
| Route | What it is | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup | The stack leaves your site on a truck | One-off clear-outs and recurring empties |
| Recycling | Pallets go for repair, dismantling or grinding | Cores and mixed piles with something to save |
| Disposal | Broken wood leaves for grinding or the landfill | Stacks with nothing to resell |
Worth selling, or only clearing?
The first question is whether the stack has value. A sorted pile of sound 48 x 40s may be worth selling rather than clearing, and the worth guide explains why. A pile of cores has value to a recycler. A pile of broken boards usually has none, and the job is to get it out of the yard.
Running the question through the grade sheet on a sample pallet gives a quick read: A and B are stock, C is borderline, core goes to the recycler, and anything beyond saving is disposal.
What makes a clear-out simple
- A rough count and the sizes.
- Whether the pallets are stacked or loose.
- Whether they are dry. Wet pallets weigh more and are harder to handle.
- Where the truck can get to, and whether there is a dock or a forklift.
Why yards fill up in summer
Pallets left outside through June to September take on water and mould, and a stack that could have been sold in May becomes a disposal job by August. If the plan is to clear it, earlier is usually easier. The storage guide covers keeping it sound meanwhile.
The three routes in terms of wood
A pallet leaves a yard in one of three states, and each corresponds to a route. Sound pallets go back into circulation. Repairable ones are mended, with a companion stringer, plug or plate, or are taken apart so that good boards can be used in a rebuild. Wood past repair is ground for mulch, composite products or fuel. The Forest Service survey shows that repair is routine work: it studied 1,162 repaired pallets in three recycler grades, with half-companion stringers the commonest fix.
What a site visit needs to know first
- Surface the trucks will meet: concrete, gravel, grass or soft ground after rain.
- Gate or door width, and any overhead wire or low branch on the way in.
- Where the stack sits relative to the building, and whether a forklift is on site.
- Whether any pallets belong to a pooling company and must stay.
What must not go in the pile
A clear-out goes more smoothly when the stack contains only pallets. Pressure-treated lumber, boards soaked in oil, painted wood and anything mixed with plastic or metal cannot go to a grinder that makes mulch. Pallets that carried chemicals may need to be identified before a recycler will take them. Setting those aside, and keeping them out of the sound stacks, makes the rest of the clear-out simpler.
What a recycler does at intake
When a load arrives at a recycling yard it is counted, often by the pallet, and sorted by size and build into separate piles. Sound pallets go to a staging area, repairable ones to a repair line and the rest to a dismantler or a grinder. A clear-out that arrives already sorted skips most of that and moves more of its pallets into the sound pile. Counted again on arrival, the numbers can differ from those quoted, so a seller's tally helps both sides.
Sources
Last reviewed 12 November 2026.
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Describe the stack: how many, which sizes, whether they are wet or broken, and how a truck can reach them.