Which pallets belong in recycling
EPAL's classification lists the faults that make a Euro pallet not fit for use: a missing component, an unacceptable component, a broken board, a twisted block protruding more than about 1 cm, visible nail tips or more than two nail shanks, contamination such as paint, oil, odour, mould or damp stains, a repair not to specification, and no legible EPAL marking. These pallets cannot go back into the open exchange pool without a licensed repair.
Why not repair them
Only EPAL-licensed repair operations may repair EPAL pallets. If there is no licensed repairer you can use, recycling is the honest route. A pallet repaired outside the system is, by EPAL's own poster, not fit for use.
ISPM 15 and recycled wood
ISPM 15 says a pallet with more than about a third of its parts replaced is remanufactured and must be re-treated and re-marked. That is one reason recyclers often break down damaged euros rather than rebuild them as export pallets.
Canada
CFIA directive D-98-08 governs wood packaging entering Canada from anywhere other than the continental US. Inside Canada, a damaged euro pallet is a recycling question, not an import one.
What to tell a recycler
Count, mix of types, location, dock or ground loading, and whether you get more every month. Use the recycle form.