Collecting used palettes to repair them or heat the city

In many factories, broken palettes can represent a significant amount of wood that is sometimes only used once. Because they create waste, pose safety risks, and require special handling, pallets are a source of problems and hassle. That is, unless you consider their potential!

In the Rosporden factory, broken palettes are no longer seen as a problem but as a resource. And that changes everything. With some creative thinking, these palettes can have a second life.

To start the recycling process, the palettes had to be collected. A mobile platform and bins to collect wood waste were put in place.

Broken palettes can now be re-used in three ways:

• re-sold in their current state
• repaired and then re-sold
• used for heating

Naturally, palettes aren’t sent straight to the boiler room. They are first turned into biomass before being used as fuel for heating local communities in Brittany.

In total, 8,320 palettes have been recycled.

Biomass is made up of plant- and animal-based materials that can create energy. By its very nature, biomass is renewable. It often consists of wood that’s been processed as wood chips, which are then burned for heating or to make electricity, but biomass can also come from household waste, agricultural waste, or manure, which is often converted into biogas. Its carbon footprint is practically neutral. Along with wind and solar energy, biogas is a viable option for producing sustainable energy.