Pallet pickup and removal

Sound and common sizes: we may want them. Broken, rotted or burned: it is a clear-out.

Most pallet pickup in this area is a haul-away: someone charges to take broken boards off your hands. We run a desk that reads the load first. Forty mismatched pallets in a back alley and three hundred sorted 48x40 on a dock are different jobs, and they get different answers.

Sound pallets of a common size, even a mixed pile of them, can be worth collecting. Pallets that are broken through, rotted, burned or soaked are a clear-out, and we will say so in the reply.

• The count. A rough number is enough. Say if it changes week to week.
• The mix. Sizes, how many look like Grade A or B, how many are cores, and whether any are broken.
• Blue or red paint. Pooled CHEP and PECO pallets are counted apart and left for the pooler.
• How the load comes out. A dock door, an alley or loading zone, a curb or lot, or from inside with no dock. Anyone planning a pickup needs this first.
• Your ZIP. It tells us which lane the load sits in.

A dock door lets a trailer back up and load from the stack. An alley behind a rowhouse strip does not. Loading zones are shared with deliveries, and some back doors are narrow. Say so on the request if a pickup depends on a loading zone.

For stores and restaurants inside the District, read pallets in DC alleys and loading zones. It covers what we ask about access and why small loads pile up in the first place.

1. Send the ticketCount, mix, access and ZIP. The form below is the count ticket.
2. We read the pileWe decide whether it reads as a sale, a buy-back or a clear-out and set pooled pallets aside.
3. We reply by emailThe reply says whether it is a sale, a buy-back or a clear-out, and what the desk needs from you, such as keeping the stack clear of the door.
4. If you want a pickupAsk for it in your first message and describe the access a truck would have.

On the phone we check three things first: whether the wood is dry and whole, whether the pile has pooled pallets in it, and whether the stack can be reached. Anything with mold, rot or fire damage is a different job, and we say so. See mold on pallets for what we look for.

We do not put a price on this page, and we do not promise a pickup date here. Both depend on the read.

Stack the pallets flat, keep blue and red ones apart, and clear a path from the stack to the door or curb. Note hazards such as broken glass, wet floors or low ceilings. A clear route saves more time than any other preparation.

Access decides more than count. A dock door lets a trailer back up and load straight from the stack. An alley or loading zone means a smaller truck, a shorter window and sometimes a city permit question that only the site manager can answer. A curb or lot pickup means no forklift unless you have one, so say what equipment is on site.

Say which of the three describes your site, the hours someone is there to open up, and whether the pallets are stacked or loose. Those three answers shape the plan more than the number does.

• Pull blue and red pallets to one side and tell us how many there are.
• Stack whole pallets apart from broken ones if you can; even a rough split of two piles helps.
• Keep stacks level and clear of the door so they can be counted at a glance.
• Name the person who can sign for the pickup and give a phone number for the day.

In the District a pickup usually means an alley or a loading zone, a small truck and a short window. In the Maryland and Virginia suburbs it more often means a dock door and a trailer. At the edges of the region, near Culpeper or Front Royal, it can mean a rural lot with a long approach. Each calls for different information from you.

The area pages list the places where the desk has facts. A pickup outside them can still be requested; send the address.

Who loads matters to any pickup: a stack loaded by your own staff or a forklift on site is a different job from one loaded by hand. Say whether your crew can load and whether anyone on your side can lift, and whether a pallet jack or forklift is on site or the pile must be moved by hand.

A pickup moves pallets from your site to somewhere else. A delivery does the reverse and is part of a buy. Some requests are both: a mixed load goes out and graded pallets come back. A buy-back is that kind of request, so say what you need coming back.

Rain soaks a pile left uncovered, and frozen ground can trap the bottom layer of a stack. Holidays shift dock schedules and building closures. If your pile sits outside, say so, and say whether the bottom layer is on gravel, concrete or grass. Those details change what a pallet is worth after it is lifted.

In general a few dozen pallets fit a small truck and a few hundred need a trailer, and a load in between is awkward. Pickups sometimes combine on one route, so a flexible date can matter. Say whether yours is flexible.

Keep your own written count, with a date, so you have a record of what left the site, how many were pooled, how many were refused and whether any were left behind for later.

If the pile grows, shrinks or gets wet, or if the gate, the key holder or the dock hours change, say so in a follow-up message before anyone relies on the first description.

Is pallet pickup free?

It depends on the load. Sound, common-size pallets can be worth collecting. Broken ones are not. We say which you have in the reply, and we do not quote a price on this page.

Will you take pallets from an alley or a loading zone?

Yes, as a request. Say on the request how the pile comes out.

What about blue pallets?

Blue and red mean pooled pallets from CHEP or PECO. They are not ours to take. We leave them for the pool owner, and we say how to reach them in the CHEP guide.