Across Wales, construction and housebuilding companies plus builders’ merchants can claim a share of more than £1.5 million (GBP) by returning bright green LOOP pallets for reuse according to new figures released today by The Pallet LOOP – the circular economy pallet reuse scheme for the construction sector that’s part of BSW Group.
In its first six months, The Pallet LOOP has issued more than 450,000 of its distinctive green, reusable pallets to British Gypsum to transport its bagged plaster and plasterboard products. With a financial incentive of up to £4 available(3) on each of these pallets, when companies return them to The Pallet LOOP, there is now a huge pot of money available for businesses throughout the building materials supply chain that sign up for LOOP collections.
A growing number of companies are already reaping the benefits of using The Pallet LOOP’s collection service and network – which includes a pallet repatriation hub near Barry Island that is managed by Scott Pallets.
To date, to incentivise pallet returns, The Pallet LOOP has paid out around £150k to users of the scheme including builders’ merchants, principal contractors and housebuilding companies – and the number of pallets being returned is growing month on month. In October, the number of green pallets that The Pallet LOOP collected was around 30% of the number it issued that month. This figure already exceeds previous benchmarks for standard pallet return rates in the construction sector, which have historically hovered around the 10% mark.
In addition to claiming up to £4 back for every green LOOP pallet returned, companies using The Pallet LOOP could be saving vast amounts of money on waste costs, while also cutting their carbon footprint and helping to reduce the unnecessary waste of a precious natural resource. So far, The Pallet LOOP estimates it has saved companies returning pallets up to £800k on skip costs. The Pallet LOOP has calculated that putting pallets in wood skips can cost up to £8 per pallet(8). Put that money together with the LOOP PayBack, and companies using The Pallet LOOP could be up to £12 better off for every green LOOP pallet that gets recovered for reuse – further increasing the financial incentive.
Explaining more, Paul Lewis, Founder of The Pallet LOOP, said:
“Getting a financial reward for returning pallets, and saving on waste costs is good news for merchants, principal contractors and housebuilding companies up and down the country as they face fresh operational headwinds and get to grips with changes coming into force as part of the recent budget. From the start, our model was designed to be financially equitable for everyone in the building materials supply chain, as well as better for the environment. What we’ve achieved in the first six months shows our vision is now a reality. Companies returning green LOOP pallets are getting a real boost to their bottom line. They can also access sustainability data relating to the number of pallets they have returned via our Power Bi platform. We are delighted with the progress made to date. But this is just the start – with more LOOP pallets set to hit the sector in the year ahead.”
“From December, Isover will start moving its insulation materials on our circular economy pallets. We’re also in advanced discussions with other building material manufacturers that want to follow Saint Gobain’s sustainable leadership and switch to using LOOP. By the end of 2025, we estimate we will have issued more than 2.5 million LOOP pallets – creating a PayBack pot of up to £10 million. If you are a company in construction, and you haven’t done so already, now is the time to get in the LOOP and start sending back green pallets.”
The disposal of pallets has proved problematic in the construction sector for decades. Every year more than 20 million new pallets are manufactured to transport building materials – the majority of which get skipped or scrapped after just one use*. With a range of robust pallets designed to be used again and again, a nationwide pallet collection service, and a clear financial incentive on offer, The Pallet LOOP offers a greener, leaner, safer and smarter way to move building materials – that’s better for business, and better for the planet. Further information about The Pallet LOOP is available at: www.thepalletloop.com
