Deep reference · not in the main menu
Show the working,
including the
weak parts.
If you are going to publish environmental numbers, you owe people the method. Here is every factor we use, where it comes from, what the boundary is, and the three assumptions we would attack first if we were trying to disprove our own figures.
The short answer
We apply EPA WARM v16 emission factors for HDPE and carbon steel to measured component masses of a composite IBC, on a cradle-to-gate basis for the avoided new container. Freight is excluded from both sides. Water and energy figures come from published production intensities and our own yard metering. Nothing here is independently audited, and we say so on every page that uses it.
From the yard
Inputs
Component masses
Measured across our own intake, not taken from a manufacturer's brochure.
| Component | Mass used | Basis | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDPE bottle | 50 lb | Weighed sample across mixed manufacturers | High |
| Steel cage and frame | 43 lb | Weighed sample, galvanized tubular | High |
| Pallet base | 26 lb | Composite base, our most common configuration | Medium — mix varies |
| Valve, lid, gaskets | ≈ 4 lb | Weighed sample | High |
Factors
Emission and resource factors
| Metric | Factor source | Applied as | Result per unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| CO₂e | US EPA WARM v16 — HDPE and carbon steel manufacture | Factor × component mass, cradle-to-gate | 152 lb CO₂e |
| Virgin HDPE | Direct mass avoidance | Bottle, cap and closure mass | 50 lb |
| Steel | Direct mass avoidance | Cage and frame mass | 43 lb |
| Process water | Published water intensity, virgin HDPE and primary steel | Intensity × component mass | 310 gal |
| Energy | Published process energy for moulding, welding, galvanizing | Intensity × component mass | 96 kWh |
| Landfill volume | Geometric external volume, uncompacted | 48 × 40 × 46 in converted to cubic feet | 63 cu ft |
Boundary
What is and isn't counted
Included
- Raw material extraction and processing for the avoided new container
- Polymer moulding energy for the bottle
- Steel production, forming, welding and galvanizing for the cage
- Pallet base manufacture
- Process water for virgin HDPE and primary steel
- Our own wash-water consumption and recovery rate (reported separately)
Excluded
- Distribution freight — appears on both sides of the comparison
- Warehousing and inventory carrying for new containers
- Use phase — identical for both scenarios
- End-of-life — modelled separately in the ledger, not in the per-unit factor
- Packaging waste at the manufacturer
- Capital equipment and facility construction
Weak points
Three assumptions we'd attack first
Every methodology has soft spots. Publishing ours is the difference between a method and a marketing page.
01
Linear scaling by capacity
The calculator scales factors by capacity ratio across sizes. In reality, larger totes use proportionally less material per gallon, so we are understating the benefit for 330 and 350 gallon units. We have chosen to leave the conservative version in place rather than model it.
02
Pallet mix
We apply a composite base mass to all units. Our actual intake is a mix of composite, steel, plastic and a declining tail of wood, with steel bases substantially heavier. Depending on the real mix in a given quarter, the steel figure could move by several percent either way.
03
Water intensity
Process water figures for virgin polymer and primary steel vary widely by region and facility. Our number is a mid-range published value applied uniformly, which is the assumption in this method with the widest genuine uncertainty band.
Ledger compilation
Unit counts come from yard intake and outbound records — every container is logged at the gate and again when it leaves, with a disposition code. Disposition shares in the ledger are those codes aggregated over a rolling twelve-month window and updated quarterly.
Mass figures are unit counts multiplied by measured component masses. We do not weigh every tote; we weigh samples and apply the average, which is standard practice and worth stating openly.
Wash-water recovery is metered on the pad: input volume, recovered volume, discharged volume. The published 92% is an annual average — it runs higher on W1 and W2 cycles and lower on W4, where potable rinse water cannot be recycled back into the food lane.
Independence
None of this is third-party verified. If a customer's reporting framework requires verified data, this ledger is not it, and you should treat our figures as an operator's estimate compiled by a documented method. We would rather say that clearly than let a reader assume otherwise.
Revisions
When we change a factor or find an error, we change the number and note it here rather than restating history quietly. If you spot something wrong, send it through the form — being corrected costs us nothing and being wrong in public costs us plenty.
Reuse the method
If you want to run these figures for your own container fleet, everything you need is on this page: component masses, factor sources, boundary conditions and the weak points. Use it. A method that only one company can apply is not much of a method.
Questions people actually ask
+Why EPA WARM rather than a full LCA?
+What's the system boundary?
+Why exclude freight?
+How confident are you in these numbers?
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
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.
- Sustainability · January 12, 2023 · 3 minHow We Calculate Avoided Carbon, Including the Weak PartsIf you're going to publish environmental numbers, you owe people the method — including the parts you'd attack first.
- Sustainability · July 21, 2022 · 3 minThe Hierarchy We Actually Follow at the GateEvery container that arrives gets assessed against four options in order. It only descends when the option above genuinely fails.
- Sustainability · November 16, 2022 · 3 minWhat 92% Water Recovery Actually MeansWashing containers could easily be a water disaster. Here's the plant that stops it being one, and the honest reason the number isn't 99%.
On the yard this week
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.
- 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 if the totes arrive worse than described?
+Why don't you publish prices?
+How should I store totes through a Texas freeze?
+Can you deliver with no forklift on site?
+Does a used tote keep its UN rating?
Found an error? Tell us.
We would genuinely rather correct a published figure than defend it. Put the detail in the Message field and we'll look at it.