From regulation to real impact: how reusable pallets are transforming supply chains for good.
24 June 2025In 2022, the EU generated an average of 186.5 kg of packaging waste per person. This striking figure has become a clear call to action. The new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) sets a bold new benchmark for how packaging should be designed, used, and recovered across Europe.
At PAKi Logistics, we’ve long championed the approach that now lies at the heart of the PPWR: reuse over recycling.
Our mission is to provide businesses across Europe with seamless access to standardized, reusable pallets - exactly where and when they’re needed. Through our open pooling network, we manage the flow of pallets between locations, enable easy returns, and extend asset lifecycles with professional repair services.
The Problem with Single-Use Pallets
Single-use pallets - often made from low-quality wood or composites - are typically discarded after just one shipment. In the best case, they’re recycled; more often, they’re incinerated or landfilled. Even recycling consumes energy and resources. Worse still, this model drives continuous demand for virgin wood and contributes to a high-emission, linear system.
Why Reuse Outperforms Recycling
Recycling breaks materials down to create something new. Reuse avoids that energy-intensive process entirely - preserving the form, value, and function of the pallet. PAKi ensures that pallets don’t just have the potential to be reused - they actively circulate in our system, again and again. This is exactly what the PPWR calls for: packaging that is not only designed for reuse, but reused in practice.
Environmental Benefits of Reusable Pallets in the PAKi Pooling Model:
- Less wood use: A single reusable pallet can replace 20 to 50 single-use pallets, saving up to 200 kg of timber.
- Lower emissions: Lifecycle emissions can be reduced by up to 60%.
- Less waste: Our pallets are repaired and kept in circulation - not thrown away.
- Less energy: Refurbishment consumes significantly less energy than recycling.
- Circularity in action: We keep pallets in use for as long as possible and recycle responsibly at the end of their life.
At PAKi Logistics, we believe that a smarter, more sustainable supply chain starts with reuse. Our open, digital pooling system helps companies cut waste, reduce emissions, and operate in line with the PPWR’s waste hierarchy: prevent, re-use, recycle - always in that order.
Curious how this works in real life? Click here to watch the video message from our CEO of the Faber Group, Ingrid Faber, and see how we’re putting re-use into motion every day.
More about the PPWR and how PAKi supports this transition can be found here: