iGPS Attorney Speaks Out Against Wood Pallets Again at Second Public Meeting

Sept. 3, 2009
About a week after appearing in Washington for the first of four public meetings being held by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), iGPS general counsel James Anderson spoke out against wood pallets again at the second meeting in Portland, Ore.

“There is clear and compelling evidence that, no matter how they are compared, iGPS plastic pallets outperform wood pallets in every measure: deforestation, pest infestation, bacteria transmission, ozone depletion and global warming,” said Anderson. “Wood pallets are an environmentally destructive, outmoded shipping and storage platform whose value has been outstripped by advances in plastic pallet technology.”

Anderson offered iGPS plastic pallets as an alternative to wood pallets. Anderson’s remarks mirrored those given at the first meeting. He told the USDA that wood pallets “are a major factor in deforestation,” which contributes to the buildup of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. He also said wood pallets are sent to landfills, which produce methane, another greenhouse gas.

Read more information about the USDA public meetings.

View Anderson’s complete comments.