The Benefits Recycling Pallets Pays The Challenge

The document details how the Western Cape Industrial Symbiosis Programme (WISP) connected Enviroserv, a waste management company, with ComboTimber Structures, a pallet refurbisher. This collaboration shifted ComboTimber Structures' business model from manufacturing virgin wood pallets to using second-hand materials, resulting in 79 tonnes of wood diverted from landfills and the creation of three permanent jobs.

• The partnership between Enviroserv and ComboTimber Structures led to significant environmental gains, specifically the diversion of 79 tonnes of wood from landfills and the avoidance of 200 tonnes of CO2e of fossil greenhouse gas emissions that would have resulted from decomposition in landfills.
• The collaboration generated measurable economic benefits, including R29,000 in cost savings from landfill diversion and R174,000 in additional revenue from the sale of remanufactured wood pallets. Additionally, ComboTimber Structures invested R100,000 in new equipment to handle the increased volume of wood.
• The project resulted in social benefits through the creation of three permanent jobs at ComboTimber Structures to manage the increased volume of wood materials.
• ComboTimber Structures transitioned its business model from producing virgin wood pallets to exclusively using broken wood pallets and other timber packaging materials for production, with unusable offcuts supplied to the informal market for fire starters and kennels.

APA

GreenCape (n.d.). The Benefits Recycling Pallets Pays The Challenge. https://greencape.co.za/assets/WISP-CASE-STUDIES/Recycling-Pallets-Pays.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. The Benefits Recycling Pallets Pays The Challenge. n.d. https://greencape.co.za/assets/WISP-CASE-STUDIES/Recycling-Pallets-Pays.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=The Benefits Recycling Pallets Pays The Challenge |url=https://greencape.co.za/assets/WISP-CASE-STUDIES/Recycling-Pallets-Pays.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencapendbenefits, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{The Benefits Recycling Pallets Pays The Challenge}}, institution = {GreenCape}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/assets/WISP-CASE-STUDIES/Recycling-Pallets-Pays.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }