More LOOP pallets on the way as plasterboard spec launches

Circular shift continues as British Gypsum starts to move plasterboard on reusable LOOP pallets

The next step in the roll out of more than 1.6 million green-coloured, circular economy pallets across UK construction has started with the introduction of a second reusable pallet specification by The Pallet LOOP – a member of BSW Group. British Gypsum is now using The Pallet LOOP’s 2400 x 1200mm two-way entry pallet for the distribution of its plasterboard products.

More than 40,000 of LOOP’s distinctive green reusable plasterboard pallets were shipped to British Gypsum throughout July. The pallets are now being processed through British Gypsum’s Sherburn, East Leake, Kirkby Thore and Robertsbridge plants. Once loaded with plasterboard, the distinctive green pallets will be transported to distribution centres, builders’ merchants, principal contractors and housebuilders nationwide, with tens of thousands more set to follow in the months ahead.

The launch of The Pallet LOOP plasterboard pallet follows the successful roll out of the company’s returnable bagged plaster pallets in early May. In just three months, The Pallet LOOP – in conjunction with its manufacturing partner Scott Pallets – has issued around 100,000 of its standard construction pallets to British Gypsum – and is now starting to receive green pallets back from recipient businesses keen to claim the up to £4 PayBack available for each one put back in the LOOP.

Steve Ottaway, Head of Operations at The Pallet LOOP said: “Twelve weeks in and The Pallet LOOP is now starting to really motor along. With the number of green pallets in the market now increasing by around 20,000, week on week, we’re reminding companies to sign up for LOOP. We’re already starting to see pallets coming back from distribution centres, merchants and principal contractors nationwide. This is incredibly exciting and has meant at this early stage that we’ve already been able to put around 3,000 LOOP pallets back through the supply chain, for the second time – a first step towards pallet circularity that will have a positive impact on the sector’s carbon, timber usage and waste numbers.

“We look forward to the number of returned pallets growing significantly over the coming months – to ultimately go back into the LOOP. In the meantime, our message to businesses that receive pallets, en masse, is simple. When you get green LOOP pallets, don’t put them in a skip. Stack them up and get in touch with The Pallet LOOP. We’ll get you signed up for collections, come and take away any pallets you have and give you money back. We can also pick up white pallets too.”

Registering for collections with The Pallet LOOP is easy. Companies interested in using the service and benefiting from the LOOP pallet PayBack of up to £4 per green pallet, should email: setmeup@thepalletloop.com to kick start the account creation process.

Once companies are set up, arranging collections of green pallets is simple, with two service levels available: a standard ten-day or a rapid 72-hour pick up service. The Pallet LOOP will also pick up white pallets. Collections can be booked by emailing: collections@thepalletloop.com

The Pallet LOOP has estimated that over the next five years, widespread adoption of its circular economy pallet reuse scheme, could help the construction industry:

• Reduce pallet waste disposal costs by £198 million
• Reduce wood waste by 421,000 tonnes
• Enable a 568,000m3 reduction in single use timber requirement
• Repurpose 2.03 million trees for long-term carbon storage construction timber
• Cut carbon emissions by 36,000 tonnes.

Part of the BSW Group, The Pallet LOOP is a circular economy pallet reuse scheme for the construction sector, founded on the principles of recover, repair, reuse. Repositioning pallets as a valuable resource that can and should be used again and again, The Pallet LOOP is on a mission to actively eliminating avoidable wood waste from the building materials supply chain.