Shipping pallet apparatus and method

A shipping pallet, comprising:

• two or more runners,
• an upper deck secured to and supported by the two or more runners, the upper deck comprising two or more pre-stressed structural members, each of the pre-stressed structural members comprising:
• a core consisting essentially of a recyclable cellulose-based material, the core defining at least a first core surface, a second core surface, a core lower surface, a core upper surface, a core first end, and a core second end, and the core comprising a plurality of laminated fiberboard sheets, the fiberboard sheets having at least one linerboard and at least one fluted medium with the fiberboard sheets disposed such that linerboards lie in a substantially parallel orientation with each fiberboard sheet secured in parallel to adjacent fiberboard sheets to form the core, the flutes in the fluted medium defining flute axes, at least some of the flute axes being substantially perpendicular to the core lower surface and the core upper surface,
• a wrapper, distinct from the core, consisting essentially of a single sheet of cellulose-based paper having a flexibility to wrap around the core, the wrapper wrapped around the core over each of the first core surface, the second core surface, the core lower surface, and the core upper surface,
• an adhesive positioned between the wrapper and at least one of the core lower surface and the core upper surface, the adhesive substantially positioned between at least the core first end and the core second end, the adhesive in contact with the wrapper to secure the wrapper in tension to the core between at least the core first end and the core second end, and
• the tension in the wrapper comprising a longitudinal tension, the longitudinal tension is oriented along the longitudinal direction of the pre-stressed structural member, whereby the longitudinal tension in the wrapper transmits forces to the core by the adhesive to induce compressive stress in the core in the longitudinal direction and the tension in the wrapper in combination with the compressive stress in the core pre-stresses the pre-stressed structural member, and, whereby the use of a cellulose-based material for the core and a cellulose-based paper for the wrapper permits the pre-stressed structural member to be recycled as a cellulose-based material.