Bright green pallets in production in Yorkshire as The Pallet Loop ramps up for May roll out

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Every year, UK construction uses around 20 million pallets to transport building materials – most of which are skipped or scrapped after one use.

The Pallet Loop is on a mission to change this and eliminate avoidable pallet waste. It incentivises pallet returns via a system that pays up to £4 back for every green pallet put back in the loop by registered return partners.

British Gypsum will start distributing its bagged plaster and accessories on The Pallet Loop’s distinctive green coloured pallets in May; with products from its plasterboard range set to follow in July.

The Pallet Loop pallets are being produced at three sites nationwide – in Melbourne, York; in Burton, East Staffordshire; and Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

Steve Ottaway, operations director at The Pallet Loop, said: “We are now on the cusp of a major change in the way that building materials are delivered to merchants and building sites around the UK – and are grateful to British Gypsum for showing leadership and becoming the first adopter of our circular economy scheme.

"Over the last few years, we’ve been liaising with key players throughout UK construction to discuss the benefits of switching to a more sustainable pallet distribution model. From the outset, everyone agreed change was needed and that the current linear way of working is out of kilter with the industry’s net carbon zero and zero waste objective.

"Change is now definitely on its way, and we can’t wait to see our green, branded pallets reaching and being recovered from building sites, merchant yards and distribution centres nationwide.”

Scott Grant, managing director at Scott Pallets, said: “This is a huge step for the construction industry, and underlines the power of collaboration. By working together we can significantly reduce waste, save money and achieve our sustainability targets.”