* What: Fully recycled and recyclable hardened paperboard shipping pallets
* Company: PBPallets, a division of the North Georgia Paperboard
* Location: 315 Commercial Drive, Chatsworth, Ga.
* How it's green: A total of 17 mature trees are saved per ton of recycled paper used to manufacture the shipping pallets, said Charles Creech, head of sales and marketing. Compared to traditional wooden pallets, the processes used to manufacture paperboard pallets save 7,000 gallons of water and 3 cubic yards in the landfill per ton of recycled paper used. Shipping costs and gas use are also reduced, Creech said.
* How long will it last? "It depends on how you use them," Creech said. "You have to remember, it's not wood, so it's meant for certain products - things that don't shift as much. If you were just storing boxes, they could last forever, but outside in the pouring rain - it's not for that."
* Why do it this way? Aside from being environmentally friendly, paper pallets can also be easier to use since they are lightweight, Creech said. "Yeah it's green, it's efficient, but it's also lightweight and easy to use," he said. "And if shipping is a real expense to a client, they would much rather use a lightweight product, because they're paying by the pound."
* Is environmentalism an essential part of the business and why? Environmentalism is the core aspect of PBPallets, since all of its products are made entirely of 100 percent recycled paper.
- Compiled by staff writer Brittany Cofer