Icelandic company Graenar lausnir (“Green Solutions”) has developed a new technology which enables pallets to be made from compressed recycled paper. A factory in the northeastern Mývatn region has formally begun producing such pallets.
“The machine is the first of its kind in the world,” chairman of the board of Graenar lausnir Ólafur Jónsson told 24 Stundir. “It recycles paper and creates pallets that can carry between 3-6,000 kilos.”
“We are in fact aiming towards producing the pallets to sell in the domestic market, but the main emphasis will be put on mass-producing the machine itself for foreign markets,” Jónsson said, adding that this is a clever solution for recycling newspapers, for example.
“The machine consists of ovens that reach 200-220 degrees [°C] as well as two robots so that no human hand, as such, is involved in the production,” Jónsson explained. He believes introducing paper pallets can save a considerable amount of money for transport companies.
Graenar lausnir was founded around three years ago and has invested ISK 600 million (USD 5.5 million, EUR 3.9 million) in product developing and equipment. The pallets are labeled as “green” because their production is environmentally friendly.
The paper pallets are also 90 percent lighter than customary timber pallets and they are water repellent and sterilized.
