GRAND RAPIDS -- Wood pallets help transport tons of goods across the country, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture is concerned they could carry more -- namely the invasive emerald ash borer, a nuisance in West Michigan and elsewhere.

The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on Tuesday held its fourth and final hearing at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, 187 Monroe Ave. NW, as it eyes potential regulations aimed at preventing the spread of destructive pests.

Others meetings were in Washington, D.C.; Portland, Ore.; and Houston.

Local and national wood pallet manufacturers say they're fine with enhanced measures to work any bugs out of their products, but a producer of plastic platforms said wood is no good.Lewis TafferLewis Taffer, chief marketing officer for Orlando, Fla.-based Intelligent Global Pooling Systems Co. LLC, said his firm's products are "lighter, stronger, safer and greener" than wooden units.

"We obviously think plastic is superior," Taffer said at the Grand Rapids hearing. "It's an impervious material."

But Asher Tourison said it's no time to abandon wood. Tourison is president of Acme Pallet Inc., 13450 New Holland St., Holland, which manufacture hundreds of thousands of wood pallets a year.

He would "just as soon treat everything" to limit the risk of pest spread rather than follow what APHIS national program manager Paul Chaloux called a "mosaic of requirements."

"There's been a lot of problems and a paperwork nightmare trying to keep it straight," Tourison said.

Tourison's is one of about 5,200 wood pallet-related businesses in the U.S., according to Bruce Scholnick, president of the 700-member National Wooden Pallet & Container Association in Alexandria, Va.

There are currently 1.2 billion pallets circulating in the country, with 700 million manufactured a year and 450,000 recycled annually, Scholnick said.

Claims that wood pallets are environmentally unfriendly are bogus as they're made from the "most abundant natural material." Recycled pallets are used for mulch, animal bedding and other products.

"Repurposing is good business and environmentally responsible," Scholnick said.

Scholnick supports standards consistent with international regulations. More than 140 nations have adopted the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures Guidelines for Regulating Wood Packaging Materials, he said.

Chaloux said the international heat treatment and fumigation program has "been highly helpful" in limiting pest spread, but the USDA plans to review information gathered to see what its role should be, if any, in developing a new national standard.

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