repallet.org

C&D debris

Construction and demolition waste: concrete, wood, drywall, roofing and similar materials.

Last reviewed October 27, 2026 by repallet.org editors.

Construction and demolition (C&D) debris is the waste from building, renovating and demolishing structures. Many states permit separate C&D landfills that accept only this kind of waste.

Pallets arrive on building sites with materials and often end up in C&D containers. North Carolina's statute lets wooden pallets go to a landfill permitted to accept only C&D debris, and NC DEQ reads that narrowly: only pallets generated as C&D waste under its solid waste rules, not pallets from other industries.

The industry's estimate of 25.39 million pallets landfilled in 2016 combines MSW and C&D landfills. See construction sites for keeping pallets out of the roll-off.

Many suppliers of building materials will take their pallets back if asked before delivery, which keeps them out of C&D containers altogether. On a project with a waste diversion target, pallets are usually one of the easiest streams to separate.

Sources

  1. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 130A-309.10 (prohibited acts; disposal bans) North Carolina General Assembly. Accessed October 27, 2026.
  2. Wooden Pallets N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. Accessed October 27, 2026.
  3. Landfill Avoidance (March 2018) Pallet Foundation (industry body). Accessed October 27, 2026. Industry publication. Always attributed.

Related