Grinding (pallet grinding)
Shredding pallets that can't be reused into chips for mulch, bedding or fuel.
Grinding turns pallets and offcuts into wood chips in a horizontal or tub grinder, with magnets pulling out nails. The chips become mulch, animal bedding, boiler fuel or feedstock for pellets and panels.
It's what EPA counts as pallet recycling: its 2018 estimate of 3.1 million tons describes recycling as usually chipping for uses such as mulch or bedding, excluding wood burned for fuel.
WARM has no composting or recycling factor for dimensional lumber, so the Pallet Fate Report treats grinding as diverted tons with no emissions credit. That's a deliberate choice; see the methodology.
Grinding is also the destination for the offcuts and broken pieces left over from repair and remanufacture, so most recyclers grind some share of what they collect. Ask yours what that share is, and where the chips go, before you report a reuse figure.
Sources
- Containers and Packaging: Product-Specific Data (wood packaging, 1960–2018) U.S. EPA. Accessed October 27, 2026. Page last updated October 19, 2026; latest data year 2018.
- Documentation for Greenhouse Gas Emission and Energy Factors Used in WARM, Version 16: Construction Materials Chapters, ch. 12 Wood Products (EPA-530-R-23-020) U.S. EPA. Accessed October 27, 2026. Exhibits 12-3 (p. 12-3), 12-9, 12-13, 12-15 and 12-16 (p. 12-10).