I was sourcing some cast iron grating for a California drain I am installing in a distillery (more on that project soon). On the sales counter of Corix Water Products in Victoria, they had this note pad attached to a tiny pallet. I have to say that after years of ripping apart discarded pallets and schlepping them home or to a work site, this is the kind of pallet that I like these days. I get calls, texts and e-mails all the time from well meaning folks saying, hey, there's a big stack of pallets on the corner of this street or down that alley. I am so busy these days that its not often that I track down a tip like that. It's not that I have reached peak pallet. If I need some shipping type material, I have some go to spots where I can get what I need. I have talked to the property owners, and they are cool with me picking up what I need. For example, I needed some chunky legs for some outdoor tables I made for Dockside Green and know of a place that ships metal into Victoria on some huge pallets. They have guys hitting their pallet pile for bon fire wood but I think they appreciate my approach. I leave things cleaner than I find them, and if I pull them apart on site, I sweep up any nails or screws that hit the ground (two reasons: it saves tires, mine and theirs, and I reuse the nails and screws, too). I also salvage after hours or on the weekends so that I don't get in the way of their business. Some folks will put stuff I look for aside until I can get there, which is great. I choose spots that are clean when I do make a run. An unsupervised site can become a dump for all kinds of nasty business. I have been moving my way up the salvage chain, too, with a move towards more valuable materials that I can use either in my own projects or move to someone that is looking to up-cycle. That part is pretty encouraging. The more people that are thinking about re-using and up-cycling material, the better off we all are. I don't care if it's about the aesthetic, or trying to save money. It's all good. I do wonder if the little pads of paper on pallets were shipped from overseas, on a much bigger pallet. That would be a bit ironic, wouldn't it?
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AuthorAndrew MacDonald is the owner/operator of all things Hammer & Tidy. Archives
January 2017
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