this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2025
184 points (97.9% liked)
Gardening
4440 readers
137 users here now
Your Ultimate Gardening Guide.
Rules
- Be respectful and inclusive.
- No harassment, hate speech, or trolling.
- Engage in constructive discussions.
- Share relevant content.
- Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.
- Use appropriate language and tone.
- Report violations.
- Foster a continuous learning environment.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
It could be worse or possibly extremely dangerous. Micro plastics are only a concern because we don't know what long term effects they have.
On the other hand the arsenic used for wood treatment is dangerous enough that the USDA bans it for farms. Plus there's the risk of really dangerous stuff having spilled on pallets over the years like benzene.
Even a pallet from Walmart, motor oil or pool chemical spill on it, no way of knowing.
There is some places that do one time pallet use and wouldn’t be at risk, but I don’t think the majority of people are sourcing those.
Some people like to avoid ALL chemicals they can in their garden.
You can also just line the wood with plastic and it’s moot, but as a generic basic around the globe advice.
Dont use pallets or treated wood for crafts and stuff in your home.
CCA is banned for lumber designed for ground contact construction. Pallet wood has no restrictions. Pallets use in shipping means you don't even know what country it came from.
Stuff like telephone poles still use it I believe. At least in Canada. Railroad ties too likely.