A Houston company is turning discarded plastic bottles and bags into sheets to replace wood pallets in the shipping of goods.

While plastic slip sheets have been in use at least since the mid-1990s, Houston-based Fresh Pak Corp. believes it is the only manufacturer in the country using curbside recycled plastics as raw material.

In addition, Fresh Pak says its recently introduced Eco-Sheet plastic slip sheets offer economic and environmental advantages over wood pallets.

"We buy plastic bottles that have been compacted and sold in bales and plastic bags that come from retailers' recycling bins all over the country," says Rudy Macdonel, director of sales and marketing for Fresh Pak.