By Southside Junk Removal
Pallets are a resource, not trash
A standard 48x40 GMA pallet is worth $4-10 in the secondary market. Used hardwood pallets, especially in good condition, are reused by pallet recyclers who repair them and resell. Plastic pallets and odd-size pallets have different markets. For a south Atlanta warehouse with steady pallet outflow, free pickup is usually available from pallet recyclers in exchange for the pallets themselves.
When free pickup works
Free pickup makes sense when you have 50+ pallets at a time (recycler routes do not work for one or two), the pallets are in reusable condition (no breaks, no major splits, no chemical contamination), and you are flexible on pickup timing (recyclers schedule on weekly routes, not on-demand). Kamps Pallets, 48forty Solutions, and several Atlanta-area regional recyclers handle this.
When paid haul-away makes sense
Paid haul-away is the right call when you have a mix of pallets and other debris (the recycler does not take the rest), the pallets are damaged or unusable (broken, splintered, painted, chemical-stained), you need same-day pickup (cannot wait for the recycler's weekly route), or you have a one-off cleanout (warehouse closure, lease-end, post-relocation cleanup).
Damaged pallets and disposal
Damaged pallets that cannot be reused go to wood waste recycling (mulched and turned into landscape mulch) or landfill. Chemical-stained pallets (anything used in food service or chemical handling) usually have to go to landfill, because the recycler's chain rejects them. Painted or marked pallets sometimes route to landfill depending on the recycler.
Volume warehouse accounts
South Atlanta has dense industrial volume: warehouses in Forest Park, McDonough, Stockbridge, Union City, and East Point produce hundreds of pallets per week between them. We serve a handful of these on recurring schedules. Pricing is volume-based and lower than spot pickup.
Pricing pallet jobs
One-off pallet haul-away is priced like any other commercial removal, quarter-load ($370) up to full truck ($725) depending on quantity. Recurring volume accounts get a custom rate. See our pallet removal service for the service overview.