FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2003
CONTACT:
Abraham Guillen, 802.434.5491
Sam Donadio, 518.355.2995
Rainforest Alliance recognizes Power Pallet's innovative approach
Richmond, Vermont - The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance is pleased to announce the Rediscovered Wood certification of Power Pallet, Inc. Founded in 1975 in a small backyard in upstate New York, Schenectady-based Power Pallet has since grown to a multi-million dollar
business. This family-owned operation has gone from manually recycling 200 pallets per day to refurbishing nearly 200 times that amount with 70 employees and 15 acres of manufacturing land.
In 1975, pallet recycling was virtually unknown. With neither machinery nor automation, Power Pallet's employees used crowbars, hammers and nails to reclaim used pallets. They gathered and delivered pallets by hand using
small trucks. Today the company recycles and manufactures over 60 sizes and types of pallet for over 300 customers within a 200-mile radius of New York.
Gregory Donadio Sr. developed this business idea while driving trucks. As the business succeeded, his son Samuel became involved in all aspects of the business. Samuel now serves as President and owner of Power Pallet.
Power Pallet relies on supplies of used pallets to recycle. In some cases, customers who buy from Power Pallet also supply used pallets back to the company. In other cases, customers only supply pallets. Power Pallet currently receives approximately 1,606,500 pallets annually, about half of which are resold. Of the balance, approximately one quarter are dismantled with components being used in the recycling and manufacturing process with the remainder ground, dyed and sold as landscaping mulch through Power
Pallet's subsidiary Adirondack Premium Mulch.
The Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood program created Rediscovered Wood certification in 1996 as a means of identifying wood products from salvaged, reclaimed, or recycled sources. SmartWood evaluates companies interested in obtaining Rediscovered Wood-certification based on where they source their wood. SmartWood assessors do background checks into the sources of the reclaimed wood and then follow that wood from arrival at the certified
operation's facility through production to the final product. This ensures that products carrying the Rediscovered Wood logo have been manufactured
from a salvaged or reclaimed source.
"It is an honor to be certified by the SmartWood program," said Sam Donadio, President and owner of Power Pallet, Inc. "There are plenty of manufacturers who are concerned with the environment. SmartWood is there to make the
connection for both us and our customers."
Interest in Power Pallet resulted from the Rainforest Alliance's participation in the Vermont Certified Pallet Project (VCPP). This initiative links buyers and producers of certified pallets. Earlier this year Dan Davis from the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund contacted Abraham Guillen from the Rainforest Alliance to develop new markets for certified wood supplies in Vermont. The two organizations designed VCPP to encourage Vermont companies to buy pallets from Vermont-based manufacturers whose pallets are made from lower grade wood harvested from the increasing number
of Vermont forests certified under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) system. Several Vermont businesses contacted under this initiative, such as Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Cabot Creamery, indicated that that they
were already buying recycled pallets from Power Pallet. Thus this forwarding-thinking company joined the pallet project and began its own Rainforest Alliance Rediscovered Wood certification effort.
Davis, a wood products broker working for the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, said that creating markets for certified pallets is part of an effort to build greater value in the forest products industry. "Power Pallet's
decision to attain certification makes it possible for others to improve their environmental performance without affecting their bottom line."
Businesses contacted through VCPP use varying numbers of pallets ranging from 500 to close to 100,000 annually. Weighing about 55 lbs. apiece, a single Vermont business could conceivably keep over 2.5 thousand tons of
pallet wood out local landfills each year. At approximately 15 board ft. per pallet, the same business could reduce the amount of wood harvested to make the virgin lumber pallets by over 1 million board ft. per year. This positive, significant environmental impact demonstrates the benefit of the pallet project, and provides opportunities for the Northeast's conservation-oriented businesses to work with Power Pallet to supply remanufactured pallets.
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SmartWood is a sustainable forestry program of the Rainforest Alliance, an international conservation organization that works to protect endangered
ecosystems and the people and wildlife that live in them by transforming land use practices, business practices, and consumer behaviour. See . Established in 1989, SmartWood is the
oldest, most extensive certification program in the world, and is accredited by the FSC. SmartWood's headquarters is located in Richmond, Vermont, USA. Further information about SmartWood can be found at:
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The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund facilitates the creation and retention of quality jobs throughout the state. Founded in 1995 by the Vermont Legislature, VSJF focuses on forest products, agriculture, renewable energy and other sectors through grant making, community economic development and
enterprise creation. To learn more about VSJF's innovative activities, see www.vsjf.org .
