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Recycled Pallets - Cutting Costs and Waste

19 Jan 2023 by GH Commercial

With the volume and cost of pallets used by the business, we asked ourselves if we could recycle and reuse them. The answer was yes.

When it comes to sustainability at GH Commercial, we Believe in Better. At every opportunity, we look for ways we can improve our processes under our 3R program (Reclaim – Recycle – Reprocess), which diverts flooring from landfill. Now, it’s a principle we’re applying to the pallets we obtain for yarn and transportation.

With the volume of yarn pallets coming into the business, together with the high cost of single-use transport pallets, and their end-of-life disposal, our team asked the question, “can we reuse these?”. The answer, after some investigation, was “yes”.

Given the global timber shortage and increasing landfill (plus the toxins and greenhouse gases associated with treated timber), recycling to divert it from scrap is more important than ever.

Rework It, Don’t Waste It

We conducted a review that found two types of treated pallets coming into the business – including imported yarn pallets, and locally made transport pallets. In asking how we could adapt these to be reused, we found five types of pallets across different sites that required different modifications to suit their needs.

Our tile plant, for instance, required a flat top pallet to prevent flooring from warping while being shipped. Our Geelong facility where yarn is stored, noticed that some suppliers delivered yarn using a flat top similar to the pallets used in our tile plant, while our Truganina warehouse needed a variety of pallet sizes.

We spoke with our suppliers about how they could modify their pallets to suit our various uses.

Recycled Pallets - Cutting Costs and Waste

A Change for the Better

In collaborating with our local pallet supplier, Marshall Pine, we made a significant and immediate improvement. They were able to adjust their pallets to include a flat plyboard top, so our tile plant and warehouse could reuse them for safe shipping and storage.

They also buy back 95% of our stock which they’re able to sell onward. This has significantly reduced our purchase price and eliminated our scrap fees – resulting in a huge cost saving to the business, and the environment, on a shared resource used across all our sites.

Our collaboration with Marshall Pine has opened the door to new opportunities for regeneration across GH Commercial. And we continue to look for new ways to ensure we not only Believe in Better but follow through on our sustainability promise. 

READ MORE ABOUT OUR SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY

Gallery

Recycled Pallets - Cutting Costs and Waste

Recycled Pallets - Cutting Costs and Waste

Recycled Pallets - Cutting Costs and Waste

GH Commercial
GH Commercial
Australia
Global Flooring SolutionsAs a house of market leading brands, distributing Godfrey Hirst, Feltex, Mohawk Group and IVC Commercial flooring products, GH Commercial is the Oceanic subsidiary of Mohawk Industries, the world's, largest flooring company, offering a global network of leading products.Believe in Better. People, Performance, Planet. Our Approach to Sustainable business. Our future depends on the work we do today. At GH Commercial, our commitment to our planet extends beyond just products and processes: it's how we challenge ourselves to do and be better every day; how we many decisions; how we reinvest in our people and planet; and how we define what matters most as we work to deliver value for generations to come. Our approach to sustainability is all about making the world better. We capture this in three powerful pillars of People, Performance and Planet in everything we do. Better for people: with a focus on building and developing an equitable workplace for our team and our suppliers. Better for performance: challenging ourselves to design, manufacture and distribute innovative products that are sustainably considered. Better for planet: honouring our commitment to reduce environmental and social impacts in line with the Paris Agreement and beyond. As part of the world's largest flooring manufacturer, we feel a profound sense of responsibility to advance our shared mission of a more sustainable future. Let's do better together. Local Manufacturing. Over 150 YearsGH Commercial is privileged to draw on over 150 years of manufacturing experience in Australia and New Zealand through Godfrey Hirst operations. The Godfrey Hirst name is truly synonymous with Geelong, dating back to 1865 when Charles Shannon and a young entrepreneurial Godfrey Hirst purchased two established woolen and cloth mills on the banks of the Barwon River. From these humble beginnings, Godfrey Hirst has grown to be one of Australia's largest and most successful flooring brands. As part of our commitment to our planet, we are dedicated to reducing our environmental footprint through careful and responsible resource management and the continued investment in new technology to improve our processes.  

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