Palltech

Wood vs Plastic Pallets: Which is Right for Your Supply Chain?

The head-to-head comparison UK buyers actually need. Cost, durability, hygiene, weight, sustainability, export compliance. Honest tradeoffs, no sales spin.

The short answer

Wood for 90% of UK B2B logistics: cheaper per trip, easy to repair, universally compatible, fully recyclable. Plastic for the other 10%: food contact, pharma, cleanroom, automated warehouses and high-turnover closed-loop systems. Most operations that think they need plastic don't, and most that need it can't do without it. Below is the decision framework.

Wooden pallets: what you get

Wooden pallets are the default across UK logistics for sound commercial reasons. A new UK standard wooden pallet costs £12 to £18, a reconditioned Grade A runs £6 to £9, and Grade B drops to £4 to £6. They carry 1,500kg dynamic and 4,000kg static. They survive forklift rough-handling, stack well, and can be repaired cheaply when damaged. When they eventually break, the timber is recyclable or biomass fuel.

Weaknesses: they absorb liquid (bad in wet environments), can harbour bacteria or mould if left damp, splinter over time, and pose an ISPM15 compliance burden on non-EU export. Each wooden pallet typically lasts 10 to 20 trips before retirement depending on use and grade.

Plastic pallets: what you get

A new plastic pallet costs £50 to £200+ depending on spec. They are hygienic (non-porous, washable, unaffected by water), dimensionally consistent down to the millimetre, lightweight (15-22kg), ISPM15-exempt for export, and last 5-10x longer than wood in closed-loop systems. HDPE plastic pallets can be fully recycled at end of life.

Weaknesses: 4 to 10x the upfront cost of wood, harder and less forgiving under forklift abuse (cracks rather than cushions), degrades under UV if stored outside, and cannot be repaired (a damaged plastic pallet is scrap).

Head-to-head: the factors that actually matter

  • Cost per trip: wood wins. Even with plastic's 5-10x lifespan, the upfront cost rarely pays back in one-way or low-turnover use. Plastic only wins economically in closed-loop systems with 50+ trips per pallet per year.
  • Hygiene: plastic wins decisively. Required for food contact (BRC, SALSA, FDA), pharmaceutical and cleanroom. Wooden pallets can be used near food but not as food-contact surfaces.
  • Export: wood needs ISPM15 heat treatment (and stamp verification); plastic is fully exempt. For high-volume non-EU export, plastic eliminates a major compliance headache.
  • Durability: plastic wins in clean controlled environments; wood wins in rough industrial conditions (forklift abuse, outdoor storage, timber yards).
  • Repairability: wood wins. A cracked wooden board is a £1 fix. A cracked plastic pallet is scrap.
  • Sustainability: tied. Wood is renewable, biodegradable, and carbon-sequestering while in use. Plastic (HDPE) is made from oil but is fully recyclable and has longer service life. End-of-life matters more than source material.
  • Weight: plastic wins on empty weight (15-22kg vs 22-28kg for wood), which marginally helps airfreight and manual handling. Wood is still lighter than steel or aluminium.
  • Availability: wood wins. Any UK supplier stocks wood; plastic often has 1-2 week lead times on volume orders.

Which should you choose?

Choose wood if: you are shipping one-way, you work in general B2B or industrial logistics, you need the cheapest compliant solution, you value repairability, or you are occasionally exporting with ISPM15. See used wooden pallets for the best value, or heat-treated ISPM15 pallets for export.

Choose plastic if: you are in food and beverage, pharmaceutical or cleanroom manufacturing; you run a closed-loop system with 50+ trips per pallet per year; you export high volumes to non-EU markets and want to dodge ISPM15 entirely; or you use automated AS/RS warehousing where dimensional consistency matters.

Still not sure? The types of pallets guide walks through every alternative including presswood and cardboard. If you want a direct recommendation, call us and describe the use case.

Wood vs plastic pallets: common questions

Not universally. Plastic is better for hygiene, longevity in closed loops, and ISPM15-exempt export. Wood is better for cost, repairability, and general B2B logistics. The question is which factor matters most in your supply chain. For most UK SMEs, wood wins on total cost of ownership.

In closed-loop systems, a plastic pallet handles 50-100+ trips versus 10-20 for a wooden pallet. In rough industrial use (forklift abuse, outdoor storage) plastic can fail sooner due to impact cracking. Match the environment: plastic is long-lasting in controlled warehouses, not in timber yards.

Food-grade plastic pallets are, yes. They are made from virgin HDPE or polypropylene (not recycled plastic, which is not food-grade), are non-porous, washable, and certified to BRC, SALSA or FDA standards depending on spec. Standard industrial plastic pallets are not food-grade. Specify food-grade explicitly when ordering.

No. ISPM15 only applies to solid wooden packaging. Plastic pallets, cardboard pallets and presswood are all exempt. This is why high-volume non-EU exporters often switch to plastic even at higher upfront cost: it eliminates heat treatment, stamp verification and re-treatment costs entirely.

Yes. HDPE and PP plastic pallets are recyclable at any plastic recycling facility. Most pallet suppliers (including Palltech) take back damaged plastic pallets and ensure they are reprocessed, often into new plastic pallets or other HDPE products. Zero plastic pallets should hit landfill.

Complicated. Wood is renewable and biodegradable but requires repair and replacement more often. Plastic is fossil-derived but lasts 5-10x longer and is fully recyclable. For closed-loop systems with high turnover, plastic's total-lifecycle carbon is often lower than wood's. For one-way or low-turnover use, wood wins. End-of-life handling matters more than source material.