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.

Deep reference · not in the main menu

W1 to W5,
in full.

This is the page we point auditors at. Each standard is defined by its process steps, chemistry, temperature, the record it produces, and — the part that matters most — what it does not achieve.

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

The short answer

W1 is a cold rinse. W2 is a three-stage rinse following EPA practice. W3 is a hot alkaline detergent wash at 140°F. W4 is a recirculating caustic clean-in-place at 160°F with sanitiser and full documentation, and it is mandatory for all food-grade stock. W5 executes your own written protocol on our line.

Specify a wash

Name the standard, or describe the prior contents and the next use and we'll name it.

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

Flatbed trailer loaded with two rows of IBC totes secured with straps, hooked to a blue tractor unit
Twenty on the floor of a 48-foot flatbed. Forty if they're empty.
IBC totes strapped two high inside a box trailer with timber dunnage between the layers
Empties double-stacked and strapped over the cage rail — never over the bottle.

Summary

The five standards side by side

Wash standard comparison
CodeStandardProcessWaterTempTypical use
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

W1

Rinse

Process

  1. 01Drain residual liquid and invert to clear the outlet
  2. 02Single cold-water pressure rinse through the top opening
  3. 03Drain fully and air dry

Chemistry

None — water only

Record produced

Internal log only

What it achieves

Removes free liquid and loose residue. Suitable for units heading to material recovery or heavy-duty non-critical use.

What it does not

Does not remove films, sugars, oils or biological growth. Never sufficient for food or potable service.

W2

Triple Rinse

Process

  1. 01Drain and invert
  2. 02Three separate rinse stages, fresh water each stage, with agitation and full drain between
  3. 03Outlet and valve flushed independently
  4. 04Air dry, valve capped

Chemistry

Water; neutralising agent where prior contents were strongly acidic or alkaline

Record produced

Internal log, available on request

What it achieves

The general-purpose industrial standard. Follows the practice described at 40 CFR 165.117(k). Suitable for Grade A and B stock in dedicated service.

What it does not

Does not reliably remove sugars, fats or biofilm. Not a food-grade wash.

W3

Hot Detergent

Process

  1. 01Drain, invert and pre-rinse
  2. 02Alkaline detergent wash at 140°F with recirculation
  3. 03Hot potable rinse
  4. 04Neutralise and verify pH
  5. 05Forced air dry

Chemistry

Alkaline detergent, food-safe where the unit is food-lane bound

Record produced

Certificate: standard, temperature, detergent, date, operator

What it achieves

Removes oils, fats, sugars and most films. The right standard for residue-heavy prior contents heading back into industrial service.

What it does not

Not a sanitising process. Does not address permeation.

W4

Caustic CIP

Process

  1. 01Drain, invert, pre-rinse
  2. 02Recirculating caustic clean-in-place at 160°F through a rotating spray head
  3. 03Potable water rinse to neutral pH, verified
  4. 04Food-safe sanitiser application and dwell
  5. 05Forced air dry to dryness
  6. 06Lid and valve sealed, unit tagged

Chemistry

Sodium hydroxide solution; food-safe sanitiser; potable rinse water

Record produced

Full certificate: standard, temperature, detergent, sanitiser, pH verification, date, operator. Retained seven years.

What it achieves

The food-grade standard. Every F-grade unit we sell has been through it, and the record travels with the tote.

What it does not

Does not remove permeated chemistry and does not certify allergen absence. Where either matters, rebottle.

W5

Customer Specification

Process

  1. 01You supply a written protocol
  2. 02We review it for feasibility on our equipment and flag anything we cannot execute
  3. 03Protocol is run with parameters recorded per unit
  4. 04Documentation returned in your required format

Chemistry

As specified by you

Record produced

As specified by you, plus our operator sign-off

What it achieves

Lets a managed fleet keep a single cleaning standard across internal and outsourced washing.

What it does not

We execute and document your protocol. We do not validate it — that remains yours.

Why we publish this

Two reasons. The first is practical: if you can name a standard, you can compare quotes honestly, and you can tell your auditor exactly what was done to the container.

The second is competitive. The used-container market runs on vague cleanliness claims because vagueness protects the seller. Publishing definitions removes that protection from us as well as from everyone else — which is uncomfortable in the short term and the only durable way to build a business people come back to.

Validation and its limits

We record what was done, not what the outcome was in every microbiological sense. Full validation — swabbing, ATP testing, residue analysis — is available under W5 where your protocol calls for it, at additional cost. What we will never do is imply that a temperature and a detergent list constitutes validation. It does not.

The water side

Wash water recovery is not a marketing detail in Texas. Our pad runs closed-loop filtration: solids settle, water is filtered and returned to the cycle, and the balance is treated and discharged under permit. Recovery runs at roughly 92% across the year, higher on W1 and W2, lower on W4 where potable rinse water cannot be recycled into the food lane. That detail is in the ledger methodology.

Questions people actually ask

+Is W2 the same as an EPA triple rinse?
It follows the same three-stage practice described at 40 CFR 165.117(k) for pesticide containers — rinse, agitate, drain, repeated three times with fresh solution each stage. What we do not do is certify your regulatory compliance; that determination is the container owner's.
+Why is W4 at 160°F specifically?
It's high enough for caustic to work efficiently on food residues and biofilm, and low enough to stay well clear of HDPE's softening range. Higher temperatures buy very little and start to risk bottle distortion.
+Can I specify my own protocol?
That's W5. Send us your written procedure, we run it on our line, and we document the parameters and sign off. Common for managed fleets with an internal cleaning standard or a customer-imposed one.
+Does a wash standard guarantee the tote is fit for my product?
No, and nobody honest will tell you otherwise. The wash standard describes what was done. Fitness for your specific product depends on prior contents, resin compatibility and your own process requirements. We give you the facts to make that call.

Related

Next

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.
Flatbed trailer loaded with two rows of IBC totes secured with straps, hooked to a blue tractor unit
Twenty on the floor of a 48-foot flatbed. Forty if they're empty.

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.

+Do you provide wash certificates?
Yes for W3, W4 and W5 washes: standard, temperature, detergent, sanitiser, date and operator. We retain copies for seven years.
+Do you offer volume discounts?
Yes, with real steps at 10, 24 and 48 units, and again at full-trailer quantities where the freight economics change substantially.
+How do I stop algae growing in a water tote?
Block the light. Paint the bottle, wrap it, shade it or buy a pre-wrapped opaque unit. Algae needs sunlight far more than it needs nutrients.
+Who is responsible for compliance?
You are, as the offeror of the shipment. We supply containers and documentation; the determination that a given container is suitable for a given regulated material is yours. We'll give you every fact we have to make it.
+Will you take totes that held chemicals?
Most of them, with the prior contents in writing. Some chemistries permanently permeate HDPE; those units go to material recovery rather than back into service, but we'll still take them off your yard.

Name the standard on your next order.

It costs nothing to specify and it changes what you receive. W2 for industrial, W4 for food, W5 when you have your own protocol.

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