Pooled and rental plastic pallets: what a buyer should know
Pooled pallets
- Owner
- The pool operator
- Example
- iGPS, all-plastic and RFID-tagged
- Fire listings, iGPS
- UL 2335 in 2007; FM in 2008
- California
- AB 1760 (2022) covers stray pallets
- For resale
- No
A pooled or rental plastic pallet belongs to the pool operator, not to the company that holds it. iGPS is the standard example: a pool of all-plastic, RFID-tagged pallets rented, tracked and returned.
That is why this page exists. We sell new pallets; we do not sell pooled ones. A pallet carrying another company's name, mark or RFID tag is not ours to resell, and it is not yours to buy.
A pallet seen from the side: the top deck, three blocks, the bottom boards and, between the blocks, the two fork openings marked with arrows. Schematic, drawn at one scale.
How pooling works
A pool operator owns a fleet and rents pallets for each trip. A shipper receives pooled pallets, loads them, and the pallets travel to a receiver who returns them or has them collected. Tracking, by RFID tag or marking, lets the operator know where each pallet is.
The user pays for the use. The ownership never moves. That is the difference between a pool and a purchase, and the reason pooled pallets are marked prominently.
What the law and the courts say
| Date | Event | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | A Quebec court ruled that CHEP's identified blue pallets belong to CHEP and cannot be sold | Marking is evidence of ownership |
| December 2011 | A Los Angeles County Sheriff task force recovered over $250,000 of illegally obtained plastic pallets, including iGPS pallets, from a plastic recycler | Resale of pooled pallets is policed |
| 2022 | California AB 1760 lets recyclers take possession of stray proprietary pallets if the owner cannot be identified or fails to retrieve them in time, with a 35-day period before they can be declared abandoned | There is a legal path for strays |
| February 2024 | CHEP USA sued two California recyclers over CHEP-marked pallets they would not return; a Los Angeles court granted CHEP's motion to retrieve pallets in one case | Owners enforce |
If a pooled pallet is on your dock
- Check for a name, logo, colour or RFID tag that identifies the operator.
- Do not reuse it for outbound goods unless your contract with the pool allows it.
- Contact the operator for collection.
- Keep a count of strays for the quarter, since in California the law sets a clock on abandonment.
Ask the operator or a lawyer about your state; we are a seller of new pallets and give no legal advice.
When buying beats renting
Renting suits a shipper who sends goods to many receivers and wants someone else to chase the empties. Buying suits a closed loop, where pallets come back to a known place and the spec repeats. A new pallet with your own mark is yours to recover, repair, or sell.
- You ship to a few receivers who return pallets: buy.
- You ship to many receivers who do not: rent, or buy cheaper one-way pallets.
- You export: a light one-way design avoids the return problem.
- You need a fire listing: confirm which model carries it, rented or bought.
See new plastic pallets for how we quote, and the closed loop discussion on the bulk page.
From request to trailer
- Send the ship-to. A delivery ZIP, a footprint and a quantity, in pallets or in trailers. If you do not know a rating, describe the load.
- We match a model. We pick a maker and model whose published static, dynamic and racking load fit the load, and say so when only one maker fits.
- You get a count. The quote carries the maker's own per-trailer figure where one is published, and says plainly where none is.
- Papers and delivery. For food or pharma we attach the resin and colourant documents. A standing supply repeats the same line on every order.
What a complete request carries
- The footprint, in inches or millimetres, and whether it is fixed by a rack bay or a container.
- How many pallets, or how many 53 ft trailers.
- The ratings the load needs: static for the stack, dynamic for the move, racking only if the pallet sits on beams.
- Food, pharma, chemical, automotive, warehouse or export use, which sets the papers.
- One load now, or a standing supply with the same line on every order.
- Where it goes and when, and anything marked on the pallet: colour, logo, RFID tag.
Terms on this page
- Closed loop
- Pallets that travel between known sites and come back, so they are never lost to a downstream user.
- PP
- Polypropylene. More rigid than HDPE and better with heat and harsh chemicals; used where rack stiffness matters.
- One-way pallet
- A cheaper pallet shipped with the load and not expected back.
- RFID
- Radio tag moulded or fixed into a pallet so it can be tracked.
- Nest ratio
- How many empty pallets fit in the height of one.
- Fork pocket
- Opening in the pallet where the forks go.
- Open deck
- Top deck with gaps between slats or ribs; lighter and drains.
- Closed deck
- Solid top deck with no gaps; keeps small items from falling through.
- Picture frame
- A raised rim around the deck edge that keeps cartons from sliding off.
- Runners
- Bottom rails that touch the floor or rack and carry the load.
Questions at the dock
Can I buy iGPS or CHEP pallets?
They belong to the pool operator and are not for resale. We sell new pallets only.
What if a stray pooled pallet turns up?
Contact the operator for collection. California AB 1760 sets a process for strays.
Keep reading
Last reviewed 2026-11-12.