MARCH 2023
The effect of pallet deck stiffness on the compression strength of plastic 5 gallon pails
According to Mary Alvarez Valverde, a similar increase in pallet deck stiffness results in an effective increase of average 5 gallon plastic pail compression strength of 14%.
This corresponds to the difference in compression strength of a 90 mil wall thickness pail and a 75 mil wall thickness plastic pail. Based on current prices the price difference between the 90 mil and 75 mil pails is about $0.54/pail. In the three-layer, 36 pail unit load this a $19.44 savings in pail spend per unit load. However, the stiffer pallet is more expensive, so the net
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savings would be about $11 to $12 per unit load. Additionally, the 36, 75 mil pails weigh about 13 pounds less than the 36, 90 mil pails. The stiffer pallet will weigh about 8 pounds more so the net reduction in packaging and pallet mass per unit load is about 5 pounds. The unit load design is now more sustainable not just because of the overall weight reduction but also because 8 pounds of fossil fuel based plastic packaging is exchanged to 8 pounds of wood fiber-based packaging.