Life Cycle Inventory Analysis of the Wood Pallet Repair Process in the United States

This study developed gate-to-gate life cycle inventory (LCI) data for the repair of 48 by 40 inch (1,219 by 1,016 millimeter [mm]) stringer-class wood pallets in the United States. Data were collected from seven wood pallet repair facilities. Approximately 1.98 FBM (foot, board measure) (4.67E-03 cubic meters) of lumber were used for repairing each 48 by 40 inch (1,219 by 1,016 mm) stringer-class wood pallet, the majority (97%) recovered from damaged pallets received by the pallet repair facilities. Repair equipment powered by electricity made the largest contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Steel nails used for the pallet repair had the largest contribution to GHG emissions among the material inputs, while use of recovered lumber yielded the largest GHG emissions credits. Overall, the repair process for a 48 by 40 inch (1,219 by 1,016 mm) stringer-class wood pallet had GHG credits rather than a positive GHG emission due to the GHG offsets from co-products.