Making Sure It’s Safe to Create Planter Boxes From Pallets
I am creating a new garden on the cheap. I have big plans for raised beds and I’m looking for re-purposed materials to build them. I was able to scoop up a bundle of pallets from the local mini-storage for free. Cheap is good, but not at the expense of my families health.
I’ve heard that pallets can be treated with methyl bromide, which is listed as an endocrine disrupting chemical on the EU list. According to the California Proposition 65 List, methyl bromide has effects on reproduction and development.
Since soil can pick up chemicals leaching from the reclaimed wood, I need to be sure that my “free” pallets are not going to cause us long term harm.
Pallet Safety Comes First
From the website Toxipedia: “Methyl bromide is a broad spectrum pesticide used in the control of pest insects, nematodes, weeds, pathogens, and rodents. In the U.S., methyl bromide has been used in agriculture, primarily for soil fumigation, as well as for commodity and quarantine treatment, and structural fumigation.”
Methyl bromide can enter the body through inhalation by breathing air contaminated with methyl bromides, through your skin or through the eyes.
The symptoms of inhalation of methyl bromide are abdominal pain, convulsions, dizziness, headache, labored breathing, vomiting, weakness, hallucinations, loss of speech and incoordination. When exposed to skin, it can cause tingling and itching. It can also be absorbed through the skin: symptoms of absorption are redness, burning sensation, pain, and blisters. Redness, pain, blurred vision and temporary loss of vision are the symptoms which occur when methyl bromide comes in the contact with eyes. The EPA lists methyl bromide as “highly acute toxic”.
YUCK!
Fortunately, methyl bromide has not been used to fumigate pallets since 2005, but there are still old pallets in circulation and you need to be on the lookout for them. If you find an MB pallet, please do not use it for your craft project, in the garden, or as firewood. Instead, find a waste-removal company who can dispose of it properly.
Here’s How to Make Sure That Your Pallet Is Safe to Use
Every pallet has a label stamped on in somewhere. If your pallet does not have this label – don’t use it – you are putting yourself at risk. The label will have several codes on it that list:
*The country where it originated
*The IPPC logo
*How it was treated
*It may have a unique numerical code
*and a logo identifying the inspector
ONLY pallets marked HT – for heat treatment are safe to use. DB means that the wood was debarked. It has no bearing on the safety of the pallet.
From 1001Pallets.com – “wooden pallets manufactured in Canada or the US undergo a pest control treatment called heat treating (HT) which involves heating the pallet to minimum core temperature of 56°C (132°F) for softwoods and 60°C (140°F) for hardwoods for a minimum of 30 minutes in a kiln. HT pallets are not harmful to your health.”
There is one final thing to check before using a found pallet. If the wood is visibly stained and you don’t know “where your pallets been” you should probably not use those stained boards. If you look at the stack of pallets at the beginning of this post you can see one that is visibly darker than the rest. That is a warning sign that a pallet may have been exposed to other chemicals. You should use caution when using them.
Now you know how to keep your family safe when you find free pallets. HT = heat treated is the best. Go ahead – your pallets are safe – make those planter boxes and get gardening!
I like that you added the part about not knowing where a pallet has been. I was treated for chemical poisoning back in 97 and we traced it to working in the shipping dept. They were all heat treated pallets but in CA it is required all pallets be reused. So we had pallets from who knows where that had been used to haul who knows what! So when I see all these pallets being used as garden containers or in homes I cringe knowing you can’t see the dangers from past users.
I agree with your warning. Volunteering for a food bank introduced me to the fact that some warehouses use heat treated or kiln dried pallets (which in themselves are safe) but then fumigate them & their contents for the warehouse’s own purposes, which may introduce harmful chemicals into the wood unrelated to pallet-specific treatments.
Any pallet treated with Bromide in 2005 would have long since lost its cocktail. No lumber in this country has been treated with arsenic since 2003. My advice, plant and forget. thanks and God bless
Thanks for this great info! We are also planning to use pallets this coming year for a raised garden bed as well as a chicken tractor, and now we know what to look out for in terms of what’s safe to use.
I have about 10 pallets of different sizes, all we’re gathered from a single source, my local garden nursery where I used to work. Some (may) have originated in China, but as I just grabbed the nicest ones I could find from a stack it’s hard to tell. I’ve had them all for over 2 years, they have been sitting in my yard exposed to the elements, and since I live in TX our summers sometimes reach 100+ degrees for 3 months. All of these pallets were originally light colored but have darkened with age, none have stamps on them that I can see, except one that clearly says CAN (I’m assuming Canada?).
I’m thinking of using them as garden beds. Are they safe? And will ‘clothing’ them with landscape fabric or a moisture preventer/sealer or paint provide safer protection.
I think you’re ok Ranger – Canada has stricter laws about their pallets than the USA. I would not use any that have obvious oil stains, otherwise I agree, those Texas summers will kill just about anything! It’s great that you know where they came from most people pick them up without having a clue where the wood has been. I would use landscape cloth to help keep in the soil but I don’t think it’s going to do much as a protection from the wood.
Is there any other steps i should take to pepare the pallet to suit longstanding 4 season weather in michigan. I don’t want any water rot to ruin my raised garden beds.
Hi Tanya, You might consider painting or sealing your pallet if it will be exposed to severe weather.
I’d a pallet does not have any markings or codes on it is it safe to use for a veggie garden? I cleaned it in otic lean and bleach. Please advise. Thank you!
NJ grown!
Hi NJ, I wouldn’t use it around food if I was unable to confirm “where its been”
I’m glad I read your post before I decided to make my own pallet planter garden. I have seen this type of gardening a couple of times and have some extra pallets I want to try it with. I am pretty sure they are newer than 2005, but I will double check and look for the HT mark. However, I have wondered if it might not be better to try and use a plastic pallet for a garden box. The only downside I can think of is that it might not look as nice.
Great info so glad I saw this.feel a lot safer about using pallets now for my planters. Also was going to make my bed out of them.. Still am thanks for info.. John punk UK
Is there any danger of the pallets getting termites? We live in Florida.
That shouldn’t be a problem if they are heat treated.