Wood is underestimated. Take a look around you and you’ll be surprised at the amount of wood that’s present, even in this technological age. Although metal has become a material closely associated with technology and is growing in its functions, wood is an ancient element that has many symbolic meanings and continues to have many uses. Wood’s roots—pun intended—go back centuries.

Symbolic Meanings

Wood is usually associated with trees, and many ancient cultures grew because of the value they placed on trees—and by extension—wood. Take, for instance, Norse mythology. Yaggdrasil is a holy ash tree that is said to connect the Underworld and Heaven while providing wisdom. Similar trees can be found in Egyptian lore and Judeo-Christian beliefs. To this day, people still seek out the wood element to improve their health by benefitting from strength and growth.

Wood is one of the five elements in the Chinese zodiac and is a robust symbol in Feng Shui. The Chinese zodiac dictates that a person’s year of birth is connected to one of five elements. People born in years connected to wood are flexible and diversified, which leads to them valuing collaboration. Most importantly, people born in years associated to wood see growth as a vital concept.

In Feng Shui, there is some confusion: the wood element and its qualities are not present in wood objects, such as furniture made of wood, because these objects are no longer alive. It is, however, alive in plants because they are living entities. Wood is represented in tall and vertical objects, such as lamps, stripes, and columns. The colours that best represent wood are green and greenish-blue.

Wood represents the archetype of the pioneer because it breaks through barriers.

Uses

The wood used for wooden pallets keeps the CO2 it captured during its life, which is about 27kg per pallet. Wood pallets are made from the leftover parts of trees not used for furniture, flooring, and other building materials. In other words, wood pallets do not worsen deforestation. They are also better to use compared to plastic and other materials.

When it’s no longer useful as a pallet, it’s recycled for other purposes, including:

  • Animal bedding. Wood shavings keeps beds dry, free of pests, are not susceptible to mould, and reduce the odour of the animals.
  • Mulch. Wood pallet mulch suppresses weeds and easily retains water. It’s a non-toxic material that won’t harm your plants, even if you choose coloured mulch for your yard.
  • Pressed pallets. Damaged wood pallets, wood waste, and other wood by-products are moulded into pressed wood pallets that have rounded corners to prevent injuries and are 60% lighter than regular wooden pallets.

Wood pallets are also upcycled into many DIY projects.

Join Us

Because wood has been a sacred and useful tool for centuries, Pallet Management Group has been doing its part to help the environment and reduce wood waste. With our Drop-and-Switch program, we encourage our customers to recycle their wood pallets, and we’ll give you a new trailer so you never run out of space for merchandise.  If you have other ideas about recycling wood pallets or want more information about what we do, we’d love to hear from you.