Eco impact
Recycling is the consolation prize. Reuse is the point.
01 / THE LEDGER
Run it yourself
What your order actually saves
◦ Reclaim ledger — live
How much does your order actually save?
Bottle, cage and pallet all stay in service. Nothing is melted down, so you avoid the full manufacturing footprint of a new unit.
Put another way
≈ 6,451 miles of driving, not driven.
Reconditioned — whole tote reused. Figures use our own 2024 yard data and published HDPE / steel manufacturing intensities — the full method is on Carbon Math.
02 / THE HIERARCHY
Why order matters
Five options, ranked honestly
Reuse as is
Wash and redeploy. Costs 11 gal of mostly reclaimed water.
Repair and reuse
Press the cage, swap the valve, replace a pallet foot.
Rebottle
New bottle in reclaimed steel. Keeps two thirds of the mass in play.
Upcycle
Rain kit, planter, grow bed. Fifteen more years of usefulness.
Recover material
Granulate to HDPE regrind, bale the steel. Last resort.
Across 2024 that hierarchy kept 21,400 containers out of the waste stream and put 99.4% of incoming mass back into use or back into manufacturing.
03 / GO DEEPER
Four pages
The detail behind the claims
Reclaim Ledger
The full calculator with every loop type, plus the equivalences we use and the ones we refuse to use.
Open 02Circular Economy 101
Loops instead of lines, explained with totes rather than buzzwords. Trips per container is the only number that matters.
Open 03Carbon Math
Every factor, source and assumption behind our figures. Written so you can audit it, because people do.
Open 04Zero-Landfill Pledge
How we reached 99.4%, what the stubborn 0.6% actually is, and why we will not round it to zero.
Open04 / VOCABULARY
Words we have banned from this website
Commitment eight of our sustainability charter is a vocabulary rule. These phrases are either unmeasurable, unverifiable, or both — so we do not use them about a product.
- “Carbon neutral” — not without a verified inventory and retirement of credits.
- “Eco friendly” — means nothing and measures nothing.
- “Sustainable product” — a practice can be sustainable; a tote cannot.
- “100% recyclable” — technically true of HDPE and practically misleading.
- “Zero waste” — we are at 99.4%, so we say 99.4%.
- “Green” — colour, not a claim.
F / END OF LIFE
Reuse first, recycle last
What happens when the container is finally finished
| Step | Outcome | Share of mass | Cost to us |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Reuse as is — wash and redeploy | 63.9% | 11 gal of mostly reclaimed water |
| 02 | Repair and reuse — valve, gasket, pallet, cage | 11.4% | Parts and bench time |
| 03 | Rebottle — new bottle, reclaimed steel | 9.6% | A new bottle, two thirds of mass retained |
| 04 | Upcycle — rain kits, grow beds, wash stations | 3.2% | Fabrication time |
| 05 | Material recovery — HDPE regrind, steel, wood | 11.3% | Grinding, washing, drying energy |
| 06 | Residual to licensed disposal | 0.6% | Sludge, gasket rubber, fasteners, laminates |
E / GRADING
A grade is a promise, not a mood
How every unit is scored
| # | Point | Critical? |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Prior cargo declaration — present, written, specific | Yes |
| 02 | Residual liquid — any volume at all | Yes |
| 03 | Odour after wash — fixed odour by trained nose | Yes |
| 04 | Bottle corner stress whitening | No |
| 05 | Interior scoring you can feel | No |
| 06 | Interior crazing — fine surface cracking | Yes |
| 07 | Bottle bulge or deformation | Yes |
| 08 | Wall thickness at the thinnest point | Yes |
| 09 | Dome port condition and flange flatness | No |
| 10 | Outlet threads — cross-threading, chipping | Yes if crossed |
| 11 | Valve function, full open and close | No, replaceable |
| 12 | Gasket condition — compression set, bloom | No, replaceable |
| 13 | Cage squareness along the top rail | No, pressable |
| 14 | Cage weld integrity at tube intersections | Yes |
| 15 | Cage coating and galvanising loss | No |
| 16 | Pallet condition — cracked feet, rot, corrosion | No, replaceable |
| 17 | Forklift pocket integrity | No |
| 18 | UN marking legibility and date | No, re-markable |
| 19 | Leak test under our procedure | Yes |
A / SPECIFICATION
Reference
Dimensions, fittings and seat materials
Fig. 1
Fig. 2| Capacity | Litres | Footprint | Height | Tare | Gross (water) | Stack loaded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 275 gal | 1,041 | 48 × 40 in | 46 in | ≈140 lb | ≈2,435 lb | 2 high |
| 330 gal | 1,249 | 48 × 40 in | 53 in | ≈155 lb | ≈2,905 lb | 2 high |
| 350 gal | 1,325 | 48 × 40 in | 56 in | ≈165 lb | ≈3,075 lb | 2 high |
| 120 gal | 454 | 40 × 32 in | 38 in | ≈95 lb | ≈1,095 lb | 2 high |
| 180 gal | 681 | 42 × 36 in | 42 in | ≈115 lb | ≈1,616 lb | 2 high |
| 550 gal | 2,082 | 60 × 48 in | 60 in | ≈240 lb | ≈4,830 lb | 1 high |
B / FITTINGS
What threads onto it
Fittings, threads and seat materials
| Fitting | Size | Seals by | Seat options | Typical service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S60x6 butterfly valve | 2 in | Flat gasket face | EPDM, Viton, PTFE | The standard IBC outlet |
| S70x6 butterfly valve | 2 in | Flat gasket face | EPDM, Viton | European and some 330 gal units |
| 2 in NPT ball valve, poly | 2 in | Thread flanks + tape | EPDM, Viton | Retrofits, metered dispensing |
| 2 in NPT ball valve, stainless | 2 in | Thread flanks + tape | PTFE | Solvents, pressure, hot cargo |
| 3 in butterfly valve | 3 in | Flat gasket face | EPDM, Viton | Viscous cargo, high flow |
| 6 in fill cap | 6 in | Gasketed lid | EPDM, silicone | Vented or solid — choose deliberately |
| Camlock adapter, type C | 1.5 / 2 in | Cam arms + gasket | Buna, Viton | Repeated connect / disconnect |
| Bulkhead tap | 3/4 in | Both-side gaskets | Brass, poly | Rain kits, site water |
| Material | Good with | Avoid with | Temperature | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPDM | Water, acids, caustics, brine, ag-chem | Oils, fuels, aromatics | -40 to 250 °F | Low |
| Viton (FKM) | Solvents, oils, fuels, aromatics | Ketones, amines, hot steam | -15 to 400 °F | High |
| Nitrile (NBR) | Oils, diesel, greases, hydraulics | Ozone, strong oxidisers | -30 to 250 °F | Low |
| PTFE envelope | Almost all chemistry, high purity | Needs very flat flange faces | -100 to 450 °F | High |
| Silicone | Food contact, wide temperature | Solvents, abrasion | -60 to 450 °F | Medium |
C / COMPATIBILITY
Will HDPE hold it?
Sixteen cargo families, rated
| Cargo family | HDPE | Seat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water, potable and non-potable | A | EPDM / silicone | Food-history units for potable |
| Acids and caustics, aqueous | A | EPDM / PTFE | Vent fuming cargo |
| Liquid fertiliser, UAN, NPK | A | EPDM | SG up to 1.32 — check your lift-gate |
| Brine and chloride de-icer | A | EPDM | Hard on galvanising, kind to HDPE |
| Food syrups, oils, concentrates | A | Silicone / Viton | Documented food history only |
| Glycols | A | EPDM | Very common; SG 1.04–1.11 |
| Alcohols | A | Viton / PTFE | Flammable — bond and vent |
| Diesel and gas oil | B | Viton / NBR | Permeates slowly over long storage |
| Mineral spirits | B | Viton | Swells HDPE slowly |
| Surfactants and detergents | B | EPDM | Odour fixation risk — dedicate units |
| Latex, adhesives, water-based paint | A | EPDM | Cures if left. Wash promptly. |
| Ketones, aromatics, chlorinated solvents | C | — | Crazes HDPE. Stainless only. |
| Gasoline and low-conductivity fuels | C | — | Static risk. Steel or stainless. |
| Essential oils, flavour concentrates | C | — | Fixes into the wall permanently. Never. |
| Hydrogen peroxide above 10% | C | — | Decomposition and pressure risk |
| Dairy and hot-fill above 140 °F | C | — | Needs CIP and steam. Stainless. |
Permeation
Small non-polar molecules pass slowly through HDPE rather than attacking it. The bottle looks perfect and your cargo quietly leaves. It is a storage-duration problem: diesel for a week is fine, diesel for a year is not.
Crazing
Ketones, aromatics and chlorinated solvents cause fine surface cracking that propagates under stress. It is invisible until you hold the wall against a raking light, and it is a critical grading failure.
Odour fixation
Terpenes and some surfactants dissolve into the polymer itself rather than sitting on the surface. No wash removes them. This is why a food-grade tote has to have been a food tote from new.
D / ORDERING
Commercial terms, up front
Lead times, minimums and what happens when it goes wrong
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Minimum order | One unit. No account minimum, no membership. |
| Stock lead time | Grade A and B 275 gal usually ship the same week |
| Rebottled lead time | 2–3 weeks, built to order in bay D |
| Food-grade lead time | 1–3 weeks when stock exists; supply-dependent |
| Full truckload | 45 on a 48 ft flat, 48 in a 53 ft van, 90 empties double-stacked |
| Payment, first order | Prepay by ACH or card |
| Payment, established | Net 30 on credit approval |
| Grade guarantee | Regrade or replace, our freight both ways, 14 days |
| Leak warranty | 30 days from delivery, normal atmospheric service |
| Cancellation | Free until the truck is loaded |
| Returns | 14 days on unused stock units, freight at your cost |
| Sales tax | Indiana resale certificates and out-of-state equivalents accepted |
G / PITFALLS
Learned the expensive way
Five mistakes that cost people money
Ordering a 330 without measuring the ceiling
A 275 and a 330 share a footprint; the 330 is seven inches taller. Two 330s stacked is 110 inches against 96 for two 275s, and most sprinkler regimes want eighteen inches of clearance below the deflector. That seven inches is frequently the whole margin.
Forcing an NPT fitting into an S60x6 port
Both are roughly two inches, so it bites and feels tight. It is not sealing, it is chewing the buttress thread. The joint weeps two days later, usually in transit, and cross-threading is one of the few faults that condemns an otherwise perfect bottle.
Reusing a flange gasket
A gasket is a one-use part the moment it has taken a compression set. Reusing one is the cause of most 'the new valve still leaks' emails we get. They cost a couple of dollars. Keep a box at the fill point.
Specifying a solid lid on a tote that sees sun
Sealed container, rising temperature, nowhere for the expansion to go. The bottle bulges between the cage bars and does not fully return. A vented lid is the cheapest risk control in this industry.
Ignoring specific gravity
A full 275 of water is 2,435 lb. The same tote of UAN 32 is 3,168 lb, and a 330 is 3,785 lb. Plenty of lift-gates are rated at 2,500 or 3,000 lb, and the rating assumes a centred load.
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