Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Chatting => Design and Construction => Topic started by: coldandwindy on May 07, 2021, 10:18

Title: Wood treatment on pallets?
Post by: coldandwindy on May 07, 2021, 10:18

Watching "Beachgrove gardens" last night (Scottish program so you wont all have seen it, sorry) I've found something new to worry about !
Apparently I'm supposed to check what kind of wood pallets are made of & only use "heat treated" , not ones with chemical preservative. Not something I'd thought about before.
I've got three pallets sitting here ready to make a new compost bin & possibly a cold frame if there's enough left.
Should I worry - what do other people do? Am I way behind & you're all already doing this?
Thanks
Windy.

Title: Re: Wood treatment on pallets?
Post by: rowlandwells on May 08, 2021, 10:17

when i built our compost bins i lined them with thick black poly sheeting that someone gave me from there allotments they had been using for ground cover

if i have  pallets a bit suspect I usually paint them with some old gloss paint that usually does the trick for me

Title: Re: Wood treatment on pallets?
Post by: jezza on May 10, 2021, 19:13

Hello go on google to pallet identification it shows all the symbols and codes thr one to worry about most is any that have M,B on then as these were treated with Methyl Bromide up to 1993 when they were banned but some can still be in circulations food carrying pallets,if you have blue ones make sure that they are legally sourced as a company owns them and they are chargeable £5.00 ,if blue ones are broken or damaged they can be used, there are now reddish purple ones these are CHEC marked I havent found out yet if these are chargeable but they are returnable  jezza

Title: Re: Wood treatment on pallets?
Post by: coldandwindy on May 13, 2021, 09:20

Quote from: jezza on May 10, 2021, 19:13

Hello go on google to pallet identification it shows all the symbols and codes thr one to worry about most is any that have M,B on then as these were treated with Methyl Bromide up to 1993 when they were banned but some can still be in circulations food carrying pallets,if you have blue ones make sure that they are legally sourced as a company owns them and they are chargeable £5.00 ,if blue ones are broken or damaged they can be used, there are now reddish purple ones these are CHEC marked I havent found out yet if these are chargeable but they are returnable  jezza

Hi , thanks for the reply.
Mine are unpainted & have nothing written on them at all. Maybe some companies make their own? I think mine came with cattle feed. I'll need to ask the supplier where his pallets come from then. I'd say they're definitely not from before 1993, they look brand new.

Title: Re: Wood treatment on pallets?
Post by: wighty on May 21, 2021, 17:23

Chec and blue pallets have to be returned.  We have had an Inspector come round and check that we don't have any lying around our premises.  Delivery drivers usually ask you to unload the pallet and they then take them away.