Billed as marking a fundamental shift towards circular economics in the distribution of building materials in the UK, the first batch of reusable green pallets from The Pallet LOOP have started entering the construction supply chain.
Over the last three weeks, The Pallet LOOP – and its manufacturing partner Scott Pallets – have shipped more than 30,000 LOOP pallets to British Gypsum’s bagged plaster plants at Barrow, East Leake and Kirkby Thore. The RFID-tagged (radio frequency identification) pallets are now being processed through British Gypsum’s plants – with the first pallets already starting to arrive at construction projects, building sites, merchant yards and distribution centres nationwide.
This major milestone is intended to shift the dial on pallet waste across the UK – with The Pallet LOOP, part of the BSW Group, providing “the world’s first dedicated pallet production, delivery, and collection service for the construction industry.” As part of its offer, The Pallet LOOP will pick up green pallets across the UK, inspect and repair them where necessary, and redistribute them to building material manufacturers for the distribution of more products.
The roll out of the scheme is also designed to support the construction sector’s net zero ambitions. Plus, in a further financial boost for the construction industry, registered return partners will also be paid up to £4 back for every green pallet they put back in the LOOP – a figure that will quickly stack up as more pallets come online. The Pallet LOOP can also pick up so-called ‘white’ pallets, as part of a holistic pallet collection service.
As pallets start to roll out, The Pallet LOOP has a clear message for pallet recipients. Paul Lewis, the initiative’s Founder, said: “If your business hasn’t already signed up for LOOP collections, now is the time to do so. Our distinctive green, reusable pallets are now winging their way across the country, and we want recipients to be ready to send them back to us. Since British Gypsum announced it was going to be the first user of The Pallet LOOP, we’ve had a great reaction from the sector.
“Lots of builders’ merchants, housebuilding companies and principal contractors are already signed up for collections – but we want to spread the word further, so all potential recipients know what to do with LOOP pallets when they arrive at their branches and sites. Over the next twelve months, we’ll be supplying British Gypsum with more than a million of our circular economy pallets for the distribution of its bagged plaster and plasterboard products – so if you receive these products, it is important that you sign up and get in the LOOP as soon as possible.”
Registering for collections with The Pallet LOOP is easy. Companies interested in using the service and benefiting from the LOOP pallet PayBack of up to £4 per green pallet, should email: setmeup@thepalletloop.com to kick start the account creation process.
Once companies are set up, arranging collections of both green and white pallets is said to be simple, with two service levels available: a standard ten-day or a rapid 72-hour pick up service. Users of The Pallet LOOP will also receive access to a special reporting platform, where they can view and download information about the number of pallets returned and the money saved on collections versus disposal via a skip.
The system also provides information about the amount of carbon saved and trees repurposed, which can be used in sustainability reporting.
To help customers understand the sign-up process, a short onboarding video has been created, explaining how to get in the LOOP in a series of simple steps:
The Pallet LOOP has a dedicated recovery infrastructure and a comprehensive network of collection hubs in place – enabled through its partnership with Scott Pallets, which is also part of BSW Group.
For mor information, visit www.thepalletloop.com
