Pickup prep checklist

Set aside pooled pallets

Blue CHEP, red PECO and any pallet stamped as someone's property go back to their owner, not on the truck.

Separate good from broken

One stack of good pallets and one of broken. It can change a paid pickup into a free one.

Remove debris

Pull out shrink wrap, cardboard, strapping and trash. A pallets-only load can go straight to a recycler.

Stack by size, squarely

Keep 48x40s together and other sizes apart. Stack straight and no higher than is safe to unstack.

Move the pile to the truck

Ground level, close to where a truck can park, with a clear path. Check overhead clearance: box trucks are about 12 to 13 feet tall.

Share access details

Say whether there is a dock and a forklift, and whether the driver needs a gate code. Give the code by phone, not in a web form.

Have someone reachable

A phone number the driver can call on the day avoids most failed pickups.

Why it matters

Loading time is a big part of the cost of a pickup. A tidy, sorted stack by a dock loads in minutes with a forklift. The same pallets scattered across a yard, under trash, behind a locked gate, can take an hour by hand. A prepared site makes a free pickup more likely and keeps a paid one cheap.

Docks, forklifts and ground level

Loading dock: the driver backs up and loads straight across. Best for large loads.
Forklift or pallet jack on site: whole stacks go on at once. Recommended above about 100 pallets.
Ground level, no forklift: fine for smaller piles. The driver hand-loads, so keep stacks at chest height or below.
Upstairs or in a basement: tell us. It can still be done, but it costs more and takes longer.

When you book a pickup, step 3 asks about each of these.

How do I prepare my site for a pallet pickup?