A sump pallet is the simplest piece of spill containment there is: a steel bunded base that sits under your drums and catches whatever leaks out of them. Get the sump volume and the handling method right and it will outlast the drums standing on it.
Sump pallet, or a full drum store?
The four units on this page split into two families, and it is worth knowing which one you are actually specifying.
Floor sump pallets are open bunded platforms — drums go on, the grid comes off for cleaning, and that is the whole unit. They are the cheapest way to bring existing drum storage into compliance and the easiest to move around a workshop.
Sump-based storage units are enclosed cabinets built on the same containment principle, giving you weather protection, security and containment in one piece of kit. Specify these when the store is outdoors, or when the substance needs to be locked away rather than simply bunded.
What we stock
GPC Floor Sump Pallet (DSP04G) — 4 drums, painted. Fully welded construction giving a genuinely sealed sump, fitted with a removable galvanised grid so the bund can be cleaned out properly. Fork guides are built in, so when the unit is not in use it can be lifted safely — note that a forklift is needed to unload it on delivery.
GPC Sump Drum Storage Pallet (DSP08Z) — 4 drums with grid, painted. The same fully welded, removable-grid construction with integral fork guides. Also requires a forklift to unload.
GPC Drum Storage Unit with Sump Base (WCD02Z). An enclosed drum store built over a sump base — containment plus a lockable, weather-protected housing in one unit.
GPC IBC Storage Unit with Deep Sump Base (WCI03Z). The IBC-scale equivalent, with a deep sump sized for the far larger volume an intermediate bulk container holds. If you are storing IBCs on their own bund rather than in a housing, see IBC containment pallets.
Getting the sump volume right
The rule that applies across the Oil Storage Regulations, COSHH and Environment Agency pollution prevention guidance is the same one: your containment must hold the greater of 110% of the largest single container or 25% of the total volume stored. Four 205 litre drums total 820 litres, so 25% is 205 litres and 110% of the largest drum is 225.5 litres — the larger figure, 225.5 litres, is what the sump has to take. An IBC changes the arithmetic completely: a single 1,000 litre IBC needs 1,100 litres of containment, which is why the WCI03Z uses a deep sump rather than a standard one.
If the pallet lives outside without a cover, rainwater eats into that volume, and a sump that is half full of water is not a sump. Either cover it, roof it, or build a draining routine into the site's checks.
Specifying and using them
Work through it in this order. How many drums, and what size? That sets the footprint and the minimum sump volume. Indoors or outdoors? Outdoors pushes you towards the enclosed WCD02Z or WCI03Z. How does it get loaded? Every one of these units needs a forklift to unload on delivery, and the drums themselves need a proper drum handler rather than manhandling — our guide to drum handling equipment covers drum trucks, lifters and rotators. Painted or galvanised? Painted is standard; a galvanised finish earns its cost outdoors or where wash-down is frequent.
For plastic bunds that resist acids and aggressive chemicals, see polyethylene spill pallets. For racking, cradles and covered stores for the drums themselves, see drum storage, and read storing oil drums safely and what UK spill containment law requires. The full bunded range sits under spill containment.
