IBC ToteTexas

Reuse ledger, year to date: 41,200 totes diverted from Texas landfills this year. 2,060k lb of HDPE kept in service. 1,772k lb of steel cage recovered. 3,140 tons of CO₂e avoided. 92% of our wash water recycled on site. 68 Texas counties served from one Austin yard. Full methodology at /sustainability/reuse-ledger.

Service · wash & recondition

“Cleaned”
isn’t a standard.
These five are.

Every seller of used totes says they clean them. Almost none will tell you what that means. We publish five standards with defined processes, temperatures and records, so you can specify one and hold us to it.

Tote wash line under a canopy with a recycling sign reading clean, recondition, reuse, spraying a used IBC tote

The short answer

We run five wash standards: W1 cold rinse, W2 triple rinse per EPA practice, W3 hot detergent, W4 caustic clean-in-place at 160°F with recorded parameters, and W5 to your own written protocol. Food-grade stock always gets W4. Roughly 92% of the wash water is recovered and reused on site.

Book a wash

Tell us how many units, the prior contents, and which standard you need — or describe the job and we'll name the standard.

We reply here, so it has to be an inbox you actually read.

US or Canadian number, 10 digits. We format it as you type.

Two-letter code or full name — checked against your postal code.

5-digit US ZIP, or a Canadian postal code like K1A 0B1.

Plain text only. Links can't be submitted through this form.

No phone number required from us — we work by email and we answer fast. Fields marked * are required.

From the yard

IBC totes staged on a port terminal apron beside stacked shipping containers and gantry cranes
Gulf Coast staging. The densest source of recoverable totes in North America.
Rows of used 275 gallon composite IBC totes stacked two high in an outdoor yard under a blue sky
Graded stock on the outdoor rows, stacked two high and waiting on a grade tag.

5

published wash standards

W1 through W5, defined and recorded.

160°F

caustic CIP temperature

The W4 food-grade standard.

92%

wash water recycled

Closed-loop filtration since 2019.

7 yrs

record retention

In case your auditor asks later.

Standards

Pick a number, not an adjective

Specify the standard on your order and it appears on the record that ships with the units.

Published wash standards
CodeStandardProcessWater useTemperatureTypical application
W1RinseSingle cold-water pressure rinse, drain, dry~28 gal, 100% recycledAmbientGrade C stock, recovery-bound units
W2Triple RinseThree-stage rinse per EPA 40 CFR 165.117(k) practice, drain, dry~65 gal, 92% recycledAmbientGrade A and B industrial stock
W3Hot DetergentAlkaline detergent wash, hot rinse, neutralise, dry~85 gal, 88% recycled140°FOil, sugar and residue-heavy prior contents
W4Caustic CIPRecirculating caustic clean-in-place, potable rinse, sanitiser, air dry, sealed~110 gal, 84% recycled160°FAll food-grade (F) stock — the record travels with the unit
W5Customer SpecYour written protocol, our line, documented parameters and sign-offVariesVariesManaged fleets with an internal cleaning standard

Full definitions, chemistry, validation and what each standard does not achieve →

Beyond washing

Reconditioning is the other half

A clean tote in a bent cage is still a bad tote. Reconditioning is the structural work that happens alongside the wash.

  1. STEP 01

    Cage inspection & straightening

    Frames are checked for squareness and weld integrity, straightened on a press, and members replaced where corrosion has thinned the tube wall.

  2. STEP 02

    Re-coating

    Where galvanizing has failed — common on coastal and chemical-service units — the affected area is prepared and re-coated so corrosion doesn't continue underneath.

  3. STEP 03

    Hardware renewal

    Valves, lids and gaskets are replaced rather than reused unless they're genuinely sound. These are the cheap parts and the common failure points.

  4. STEP 04

    Test, grade & tag

    Leak test, grade assignment by the operator who did the work, intake tag applied, and a wash record generated where the standard calls for one.

What a wash can and cannot do

Washing removes material that is on the surface of the HDPE. It does not remove material that has migrated into it. That distinction explains almost every disappointment people have with reconditioned containers.

Removable

  • Sugars, syrups and food residues — hot detergent or caustic handles these easily
  • Water-soluble chemistry, salts, fertilizer residue
  • Oils and fats, with heat and alkalinity
  • Surface staining from most pigmented product
  • Biological growth and biofilm, with sanitiser

Not removable

  • Permeated solvents — ketones, aromatics, chlorinated compounds
  • Deep dye migration from certain pigments
  • Odour retention from strongly volatile prior contents
  • Allergen certainty — washing reduces residue but does not certify absence

When a unit falls into the second list, the honest options are rebottling or material recovery. We sort at intake and tell you which, rather than washing something twice and hoping.

Managed fleet washing

If you cycle totes continuously, per-batch washing is the wrong model. The Tote Management Program runs collection, wash, inspection and return on a schedule, so clean units are always available rather than always two days away.

Questions people actually ask

+Can you wash totes I already own?
Yes — it's a large part of what we do. Send them in or we'll collect on a route, specify a wash standard, and get them back with a record. For fleets we run it on a cycle so you always have clean units available.
+How long does a wash take?
A W2 triple rinse is same-day for small batches. W4 caustic CIP with drying and documentation is typically 48 hours. Large fleets run on a scheduled cycle rather than per-batch turnaround.
+What can't you wash out?
Permeation. If a chemistry has migrated into the HDPE — many solvents, some dyes, certain aromatics — no wash retrieves it, because the contaminant is inside the polymer rather than on it. Those units go to rebottling or material recovery, and we'll tell you which at intake.
+Do you provide wash certificates?
For W3, W4 and W5, yes: standard, temperature, detergent, sanitiser, date and operator. We retain copies for seven years. W1 and W2 are recorded internally and available on request.
+What happens to the wash water?
It goes through closed-loop filtration on the pad. About 92% is recovered and reused; the balance is treated and discharged under permit. We have been running the loop since 2019.

Quick reference

Numbers worth having open in another tab

The figures that come up in almost every conversation, whichever page you arrived on.

275 gallon · 1040 L

48×40×46

Tare
130 lb
Gross, water
2,425 lb
Stack full
2 high
Stock
Always in stock

330 gallon · 1250 L

48×40×53

Tare
160 lb
Gross, water
2,915 lb
Stack full
2 high
Stock
Always in stock

264 gallon · 1000 L

48×40×46

Tare
125 lb
Gross, water
2,325 lb
Stack full
2 high
Stock
Usually in stock

350 gallon · 1325 L

48×40×56

Tare
175 lb
Gross, water
3,095 lb
Stack full
2 high
Stock
Order in

Outlet thread

S60x6 — 60 mm coarse buttress. Not 2" NPT.

Grades published

N, R, F, A, B, C, X — applied at the wash bay.

Wash standards

W1 rinse through W4 caustic CIP at 160°F.

UN retest

Leakproofness 2.5 yrs, requalification 5 yrs.

From the yard notes

Longer reading on this

32 articles written by the people who wash, grade, weld and dispatch. No marketing copy in any of them.

All 32 articles

On the yard this week

Tote wash line under a canopy with a recycling sign reading clean, recondition, reuse, spraying a used IBC tote
The wash pad. Every unit gets a named standard, and the water goes back round.
Outdoor tote yard beside a metal warehouse with the Texas flag flying overhead
The yard on a working Tuesday. Everything ships from one site in southeast Austin.

More answers

While you're here

Pulled from the full FAQ, which runs to forty-plus answers across buying, grades, food safety, sizes, selling, compliance, delivery and care.

Read the full FAQ

Where we are
3505 Montopolis Dr, Austin, TX 78744
Yard hours
Mon–Thu 7:30a–5p · Fri 7:30a–4p · Sat 8a–12p · Sun closed (Central Time)
Coverage
68 Texas counties on scheduled routes, from one Austin yard.

+What does 31HA1/Y mean?
Composite IBC for liquids (31), plastic inner receptacle (H), steel outer casing (A), category 1, approved for Packing Group II and III materials (Y).
+What about totes with product still in them?
Rinsed and drained only. We are not a hazardous waste disposal facility and cannot accept regulated waste. If your totes still hold product, you need a licensed disposal contractor.
+How high can I stack totes?
Empty, three high indoors on a level floor. Full and static, two high on matched pallets and improved level ground. In transit, never stack full totes.
+What about allergen control?
Washing reduces residue; it does not certify absence. If you produce allergen-free product, rebottle and dedicate the units rather than relying on a wash. No honest reconditioner will give you an allergen-free guarantee on a reused bottle.
+Which grade should I buy?
The cheapest one that genuinely does the job. For water and general industrial duty that's usually B. For anything edible it's F or rebottled. For regulated chemical shipping it's rebottled with valid UN marking. For washout containment and cutting projects it's C.

Name a standard, not an adjective.

Tell us the prior contents, the unit count and the standard you need. If you don't know which standard, describe what goes in next and we'll pick it for you.

Get a quoteSee the standards