Composite lumber maker Trex Co. Inc. will work with industrial and manufacturing supplier Fastenal Co. to collect and recycle about 600,000 pounds of plastic film into decking products.
Much of the polyethylene will come from pallet and protective wraps used at Fastenal's 330 locations in 25 countries.
"Pallet wrap is vital to our daily operations, but once the product is unwrapped, we have no use for it," Dave Olson, director of EHS and sustainability for Winona, Minn.-based Fastenal. "Working with Trex to turn all that potential waste into sustainable outdoor building products is a win for both organizations."
Fastenal receives high volumes of pallet wrap as part of inbound shipments from its suppliers, and it expects to divert an estimated 600,000 pounds of plastic from landfills in the first year alone. The company said it invested more than $300,000 in equipment and infrastructure in its United States distribution centers to bale and consolidate used PE film that it then ships to Trex for recycling.
Fastenal will collect the film and ship it to Winchester, Va.-based Trex. Trex recycles film and reclaimed wood into lumber for outdoor projects such as decks and fencing.
The global pallet wrap market has estimated annual sales of $6.14 billion and is expected to grow 4 percent every year to $9.12 billion in 2033, analysis by Future Market Insights indicates. In North America, the market grew by of an average of 3.1 percent every year from 2018 to 2022. The PE film is used in huge volumes by logistics companies, among others, and more often than not ends up in landfill.