Brian Pigott 
June 5, 2014 
The war rages on between proponents of wood pallets and those for plastic pallets over the benefits of their championed choice.
We at One Way Solutions obviously tend to lean towards the plastic side when it comes to logistics, but there is one area where even we have to admit that wood pallets are superior.
They sure are great for building stuff.
Whether building homes for the displaced and impoverished or sprucing up your home and backyard, wooden pallets seem to be taking the world by storm if you count the countless DIY forums posting projects and pictures of how to recycle and reuse them instead of using them for what they were meant for.
Here are some examples of what wooden pallets are actually good for.
Makeshift Shelters
If you’re looking to build an affordable shelter sans plumbing, electricity, and much more, then look no further than your unused wooden pallets for protection from environmental harshness of the world like rain and extreme heat.
If it’s okay for I-Beam to use wooden pallets to build homes for refugees in Kosovo and Somalia, a clear indication of the value we place on human life, then wooden pallets must be a better alternative to plastic pallets.
Just ask Brad Pitt’s foundation Make it Right, who used an advanced TimberSIL wood to build green homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and who have seen huge success in fighting off rot and decay…oh wait.
If advanced, specially treated lumber that uses no chemicals is already reported to be rotting after 3 years; I can only imagine what’s happened to the poor folks in Kosovo and Somalia living in those wooden pallet homes.
Maybe, plastic pallets are better when building makeshift shelters after all. At least you won’t have to worry about your home catching fire.
Furniture
If there is one thing wooden pallets are good for, it’s building furniture. Just consult the experts of the DIY world that are rampant on Pinterest and Etsy.
Being able to cut, break and sand wooden pallets into pieces of furniture makes for a lot of flexibility when building your dream home (hopefully made of plastic pallets).
For example, if Pinterest is to be believed, you can make an awesome outdoor bar, or an outdoor garden table and bench, or a cottage bathroom, or a coffee table, or a pot and pan hanger.
All these are great additions to your house will no doubt bring that rustic feel you’ve been so desperately searching for ever since watching “Under the Tuscan Sun.”
And nothing screams practicality like saving money and recycling, so these furniture ideas are a win-win.
Imagine all the complements you will receive every time you host a dinner party or a rager. You’re one-of-a-kind furniture will separate you from the IKEA dwelling mammals of yesteryear.
But are the wooden pallets you stole from the back of Costco really the best thing to eat off of? Don’t forget to add all the hundreds of people touching your furniture, spilled drinks, and dropped finger food adding to the aesthetic of your cesspool of a coffee table. There goes your coffee table idea.
BUT, you still have an awesome Cottage Bathroom you can make with wooden pallets. Nothing says hygienic like a molding, rotting wood from splashed water and steam. Scratch the bathroom idea.
Well, at least your outdoor bar and garden table/bench are…shall I go on? While you might not necessarily get your rustic-looking kitchen, bathroom, or garden with plastic pallets, you will at least be alive to enjoy them. Consider yourself a modernist.
Huge Wooden Bonfire
One thing is for certain that wooden pallets excel at over plastic pallets. The ability to catch fire.
Nothing says summer fun like a huge bonfire. If we can learn anything from the Norwegians, it’s how to build a bonfire with wooden pallets.
So, stack a bunch of wooden pallets, recreate the tower of Babel and set it ablaze for the ultimate bonfire! Better out in the open than in your warehouse!
For everything else, plastic pallets are just better.
“Photo” by Phil and Pam Gradwell is licensed under CC BY 2.0
About Brian Pigott
Brian Pigott is an engineer and customer-centric entrepreneur. Brian is the Managing Director of One Way Solutions.