Matched to the residue

Washing, chosen by what was actually in it.

A default cycle is how you end up with a tote that looks clean and smells like the last product. We identify the residue first and select the chemistry second — which is slower, costs more, and is the only way the result means anything.

Short answer

We run cold triple rinse, hot caustic (140–160 °F), degreasing and CIP cycles selected by residue type, with retained wash records and rinsate handled under permit. Typical cost is $18–$70 per container with a 1–3 business day turnaround.

Cycles: 4 standard
Cost: $18 – $70
Turnaround: 1–3 days
Records: Retained & supplied

Work order · 90-second form

Book a wash

Send the prior product name or SDS — cycle selection and price follow directly from it.

Cycle selection

Which wash a residue actually needs.

This table is the closest thing we have to a house style. It is also free advice if you wash your own containers.

Wash cycle selection by residue class
Residue class	Example products	Cycle	Temperature	Cost band	Outcome grade
Water-soluble benign	Liquid fertiliser, brine, glycol	Cold triple rinse	Ambient	$18–$28	A or B
Sugars and syrups	Corn syrup, molasses, juice concentrate	Hot caustic + sanitise	140–160 °F	$35–$55	A (food-grade prior)
Proteins	Liquid egg, dairy, hydrolysates	Hot caustic + sanitise	150–160 °F	$40–$58	A (food-grade prior)
Oils and fats	Vegetable oil, tallow, cutting fluid	Degreasing + hot rinse	130–150 °F	$45–$70	A or B
Surfactants	Detergent, soap base, emulsifier	Extended rinse + defoam	Ambient–120 °F	$30–$48	B only
Latex and emulsions	Paint base, adhesive, coating	Mechanical + solvent-free strip	120–140 °F	$50–$75	B or C
Acids and caustics	Dilute acid, sodium hydroxide	Neutralise + rinse	Ambient	$32–$50	B
Unknown / unlabelled	No record available	Triple rinse, downgrade	Ambient	$20–$30	C only

Water, honestly

Washing uses water. Here is what we do about that.

A hot caustic cycle on a 275 gallon container uses roughly 45 gallons of water. That is not nothing, and an ecology page that pretended otherwise would not be worth reading.

What makes it defensible is the comparison. Manufacturing the replacement container consumes about 190 gallons of process water — more than four times the wash — plus 88 kg of CO₂e and 10 gallons of crude-oil feedstock that washing does not touch at all.

We also reclaim. First-stage rinse water is filtered and reused as pre-rinse on the next cycle, which recovers roughly 40% of throughput. Caustic solution is recharged rather than dumped between batches. The net water cost of returning a container to service is around 27 gallons — about 14% of what it costs to build a new one.

Water accounting per 275 gallon container
Activity	Water used	Notes
Manufacture new container	≈190 gal	Polymerisation, moulding, steel finishing
Cold triple rinse	≈22 gal	Three fills, gravity drained
Hot caustic cycle	≈45 gal	Spray head, recirculating
Degreasing cycle	≈52 gal	Surfactant package, two rinses
Reclaimed pre-rinse	−18 gal	Filtered first-stage recovery
Net per returned container	≈27 gal	≈14% of manufacturing

Washing questions

Cycles and records.

Wash your own? The cleaning guide is the same methodology, written for your yard.

Washing — FAQ

How do you clean an IBC tote?

The cycle depends entirely on the residue. Water-soluble benign products get a cold triple rinse. Sugars, syrups and proteins get hot caustic at 140–160 °F with a rotating spray head. Oils and fats get a degreasing cycle with a surfactant package. Food-contact work adds a sanitising rinse and an air dry. Everything gets a new gasket, because a clean tote with a tired gasket is not a clean tote.

Can washing make an industrial tote food grade?

No, and anybody who says otherwise is either confused or lying. Polyethylene is semi-permeable: surfactants, solvents, glycols and ag chemicals migrate into the bottle wall during service and leach back out into whatever you put in next. No wash cycle reverses absorption. Food-grade status depends on the container's entire prior history, not on its current cleanliness.

What happens to the rinsate?

It is collected, segregated by residue class and handled under permit — neutralised and discharged to sewer where permitted, or consigned to a licensed processor where not. We do not discharge untreated rinsate to ground or storm, and we retain the tickets. If your material requires specialist rinsate treatment, that cost is stated in the quote rather than absorbed and quietly cut somewhere.

Do you provide wash records?

Yes, as standard: date, serial, declared prior contents, cycle used, temperature, detergent, sanitiser where applicable, operator and post-wash photographs. That pack is what makes a washed tote defensible in an audit, and it is the reason customers in regulated food work use us rather than a pressure washer in a yard.

Clean them yourself

Our full methodology, published free, including what not to attempt.

Open

Food-grade stock

When washing isn't the answer and prior contents are.

Open

Full reconditioning

Washing plus cage, base, valve and certification work.

Open

Mixed white and black IBC totes outside a shipping and receiving building, stacked two and three high

The yard

Intake, before the wash bay

By the numbers

The figures behind this page.

4: cycles, selected by residue; Not one default cycle applied to everything
148–156 °F: our caustic band; Measured over 240 containers; hotter cleans no better
39%: of water reclaimed; First-stage rinse filtered and reused as pre-rinse
27 gal: net water per container; Against 190 gal to manufacture a replacement

Reference

The detail, in full.

Why 152 °F and not 180 — the trial that set our band
Temperature	Residue cleared	Cycle time	Bottles deformed	Wall gloss loss
120 °F	61%	18 min	0 of 40	none
135 °F	84%	14 min	0 of 40	none
145 °F	97%	11 min	0 of 40	none
152 °F	99%	9 min	0 of 40	trace
162 °F	99%	8 min	1 of 40	slight
172 °F	99%	8 min	6 of 40	marked
180 °F	99%	7 min	11 of 40	marked

Water accounting per container
Activity	Water	Note
Manufacture a new container	≈190 gal	Polymerisation, moulding, steel finishing
Cold triple rinse	≈22 gal	Three fills, gravity drained
Hot caustic cycle	≈45 gal	Recirculating spray head
Degreasing cycle	≈52 gal	Surfactant package, two rinses
Reclaimed pre-rinse	−18 gal	Filtered first-stage recovery
Net per returned container	≈27 gal	About 14% of manufacturing

Received wisdom, examined

Four things people believe that are wrong.

“Hotter is cleaner.”

Above 152 °F we gained one minute of cycle time and nothing in cleaning, and started deforming bottles. The controllable variable is contact time, not heat — twelve minutes at 150 °F beats eight at 175 on every axis we can measure.

“Bleach cleans containers.”

It sanitises surfaces that are already clean. It does not remove sugar films, protein soils or oils. And never mix it with an acid or an ammonia-bearing product.

“You can wash out an odour.”

A persistent smell after a proper wash means the compound has absorbed into the bottle wall and is desorbing. No cleaning reverses that. If the container is destined for anything sensitive, the answer is a rebottle rather than a fifth wash.

“Skipping the cold pre-rinse saves time.”

Heat sets protein soils and caramelises sugar films. Four minutes saved turns a straightforward cycle into a two-pass job, which costs twenty and ages the bottle for nothing.

Asked and answered.

Further questions

Can you validate a wash for our audit?

We supply a retained record — date, serial, declared prior contents, cycle, temperature, detergent, sanitiser where used, operator and post-wash photographs. That is documentation rather than third-party validation, and we describe it that way deliberately. It is what makes a washed container defensible in a food-safety audit.

What do you do with the rinsate?

Collected, segregated by residue class and handled under permit — neutralised and discharged to sewer where permitted, or consigned to a licensed processor where not. Nothing untreated goes to ground or storm, and we retain the tickets.

Can I send containers with unknown contents?

Yes, but they get a triple rinse and a Grade C ceiling. We will not run a caustic or degreasing cycle on an unknown residue, because selecting chemistry blind is how rinsate problems and exotherms happen.

Go deeper

Twelve reference sheets, because you should not have to ask us for a number.

Specifications, grading definitions, prices, thread standards, flow rates, weights, gasket selection, wash chemistry, freight limits, circular-route arithmetic, failure modes and conversions. Open what you need; none of it is gated and none of it changes depending on who is asking.

Container specs16 rows

Every dimension for the two sizes that make up 93% of the market.

The two sizes that are 93% of the market
Attribute	275 gallon	330 gallon
Capacity	275 gal / 1,041 L	330 gal / 1,249 L
Footprint	48" × 40"	48" × 40"
Height	46"	53"
Tare weight	125–135 lb	140–155 lb
Gross, water	≈2,425 lb	≈2,900 lb
Max gross mass	2,800 lb	3,300 lb
Bottle mass	38–45 lb HDPE	45–52 lb HDPE
Cage + base mass	≈55 lb steel	≈62 lb steel
Stack, full	2 high	2 high
Stack, empty	4 high	4 high
Two-high stack height	92"	106"
Per 53′ van, volume	48	40
Per 53′ van, weight-limited	17 full	14 full
Fill opening	6" vented or solid	6" vented or solid
Discharge	2" butterfly, S60x6	2" butterfly, S60x6
Forklift entry	4-way	4-way

Grading standard10 rows

Our written definitions — the same ones printed on every quote.

Our written grading standard, in one table
	Grade A	Grade B	Grade C	Food grade
Wash	Documented	Documented	Rinse only	Documented + sanitise
Bottle	Clear–translucent	Light haze permitted	Heavy staining	Clear, odour-free
Odour	None	Faint, product-typical	May be present	None
Prior contents	Documented, benign	Documented	May be absent	Edible only, documented
Cage	Square, no node rust	Sound, cosmetic dings	Cosmetic damage OK	Sound
Gasket	New	New	As-is	New, FDA EPDM
Leak test	Passed, recorded	Passed, recorded	Not tested	Passed, recorded
Food contact	Only if food prior	No	Never	Yes
Price band, 275 gal	$165–$225	$110–$165	$60–$95	$225–$300
Share of our sales	18%	58%	17%	7%

2026 price bands8 rows

Published rather than extracted through a contact form.

2026 Mid-Atlantic price bands, 275 gallon
Type	Single unit	Pallet (4+)	Truckload (48)	Lead time
Grade C as-is	$60–$95	$56–$88	$52–$78	1–2 days
Grade B washed	$110–$165	$102–$152	$95–$140	1–3 days
Grade A rinsed	$165–$225	$153–$208	$140–$190	1–3 days
Food grade	$225–$300	$210–$278	$195–$260	2–5 days
Rebottled	$250–$340	$236–$316	$220–$295	3–7 days
New composite	$420–$560	$400–$530	$380–$500	5–15 days
Cage only	$35–$65	$32–$60	$30–$55	1–3 days
We pay you for empties	$15–$85	$20–$85	$28–$85	Collection ≤2 weeks

Threads & flow9 rows

Measured on our own line: full tote of water, vented lid, valve open.

Threads, adapters and gravity flow
Fitting	Specification	Initial flow	Time to empty 275 gal	Typical use
3" butterfly	3" flange, PP body	128 gpm	3.5 min	Batch dumping, viscous
2" butterfly	S60x6 outlet, EPDM seat	70 gpm	6.5 min	Standard discharge
2" camlock	S60x6 → 2″ male cam	62 gpm	7.2 min	Pump and transfer hose
2" NPT	S60x6 → 2″ male NPT	58 gpm	7.9 min	Rigid dosing plumbing
1" camlock	S60x6 → 1″ male cam	22 gpm	19.6 min	Drum filling, controlled
3/4" GHT	S60x6 → garden hose	9 gpm	45.8 min	Irrigation, wash-down
1/2" spigot	S60x6 → spigot	4 gpm	105 min	Hand filling, troughs
S60x6	60 mm OD, 6 mm pitch buttress	—	—	Modern standard outlet
S100x8	100 mm OD, 8 mm pitch	—	—	Legacy / EU — use a bushing

Weights by product10 rows

gallons × 8.34 × specific gravity + tare. The number people skip.

Gross weight by product — the calculation people skip
Product	SG	275 gal gross	330 gal gross	Stack?
Ethanol	0.79	1,940 lb	2,310 lb	Yes
Diesel / fuel oil	0.85	2,080 lb	2,480 lb	Yes — steel bin only
Vegetable oil	0.92	2,240 lb	2,670 lb	Yes
Water	1.00	2,425 lb	2,900 lb	Yes
Latex emulsion	1.05	2,540 lb	3,040 lb	With care
Brine 23%	1.20	2,880 lb	3,450 lb	No
Liquid fertiliser 28-0-0	1.28	3,065 lb	3,670 lb	No
Corn syrup 42 DE	1.33	3,180 lb	3,810 lb	No — partial fill
Sulphuric acid 50%	1.40	3,340 lb	4,000 lb	Partial fill
Sodium hydroxide 50%	1.52	3,615 lb	4,335 lb	Partial fill

Gasket selection10 rows

The cheapest decision in the specification, and the one most often wrong.

Gasket and wetted-part selection
Product family	Gasket	Valve body	Container	Avoid
Water, brine, glycol	EPDM	Polypropylene	Poly IBC	—
Dilute acids	EPDM	Polypropylene	Poly IBC	Brass, carbon steel
Caustics	EPDM	Polypropylene	Poly IBC	Aluminium
Alcohols under 20% ABV	EPDM	Polypropylene	Poly IBC	—
Alcohols over 20% ABV	Viton	Stainless	Stainless bin	Poly bottles
Vegetable and mineral oils	Viton	Polypropylene	Poly IBC	EPDM gaskets
Fuels, diesel, kerosene	Viton	PP or stainless	Steel bin	Poly bottles
Aromatic solvents	Viton	Stainless	316L bin	All poly parts
Food ingredients	EPDM (FDA)	PP (FDA)	Food-grade poly	Non-FDA elastomers
Flavour, essence, botanical	Viton	Stainless	316L bin	Poly bottles

Wash cycles8 rows

The cycle follows the residue. A default cycle is how you get a clean-looking tote that smells.

Wash cycle by residue class
Residue	Cycle	Temp	Chemistry	Water	Cost	Outcome
Water-soluble benign	Cold triple rinse	Ambient	None	22 gal	$18–$28	Grade A/B
Sugars, syrups	Hot caustic + sanitise	148–156 °F	1.5% NaOH	45 gal	$35–$55	Food grade if prior allows
Proteins	Hot caustic + sanitise	150–158 °F	2% NaOH	48 gal	$40–$58	Food grade if prior allows
Oils, fats	Degrease + hot rinse	135–150 °F	Alkaline surfactant	52 gal	$45–$70	Grade A/B
Surfactants	Extended rinse + defoam	Ambient–120 °F	Defoamer	40 gal	$30–$48	Grade B only
Latex, emulsions	Mechanical + strip	125–140 °F	Alkaline	50 gal	$50–$75	Grade B/C
Acids, caustics	Neutralise + rinse	Ambient	Counter-agent	35 gal	$32–$50	Grade B
Unknown	Triple rinse, downgrade	Ambient	None	22 gal	$20–$30	Grade C only

Freight limits8 rows

Volume capacity and weight capacity are different numbers, and weight wins.

What fits on what — volume and weight limits
Vehicle	Full, 2 high	Weight-limited full	Empty, 4 high	Liftgate
53′ dry van	48	17	96	No
48′ flatbed	40	17	80	No
26′ box truck	24	8	48	Yes
16′ box truck	12	5	24	Yes
Sprinter van	4	2	8	Yes
20′ sea container	20	17	40	No
40′ sea container	42	17	84	No
Drop trailer, 53′	48	17	96	No

Circular routes7 rows

Ranked by burden avoided. Landfill is not on the list.

The seven circular routes, ranked by burden avoided
#	Route	CO₂e avoided	Water avoided	% of new-unit burden	Share of intake
1	Reuse as-is after rinse	88 kg	190 gal	100%	60.9%
2	Wash and return to service	83 kg	163 gal	94%	22.3%
3	Rebottle	55 kg	118 gal	62%	6.0%
4	Salvage cage for another unit	36 kg	76 gal	41%	3.0%
5	Upcycle into a built product	31 kg	66 gal	35%	0.9%
6	Granulate to HDPE regrind	30 kg	62 gal	34%	6.9%
7	Landfill	0 kg	0 gal	0%	0%

Failure modes8 rows

What actually retires a container and where each one goes afterwards.

What actually retires a container, and whether it is fixable
Failure	Where it starts	Share of retirements	Fixable?	Route
Bottle stress cracking	Base radius	41%	No	Granulate bottle, keep cage
Freeze split	Mid-height, at the old liquid line	16%	No	Granulate bottle, keep cage
Contamination beyond wash	Absorbed into the wall	14%	No	Granulate bottle, keep cage
Bottle deformation	Whole wall, from overfill or heat	11%	No	Rebottle
Cage node corrosion	Welded intersections, corner columns	10%	Sometimes	Mill the steel
Missing prior-contents record	Paperwork, not the container	8%	No	Grade C only
Base rail damage	Fork pockets	—	Yes, on steel	Repair or replace base
Gasket failure	Outlet and lid seals	—	Always	Replace, $4

Delivery corridors7 rows

If you sit on a route we already run, small loads become viable.

Scheduled corridors from 800 River Rd
Corridor	Key stops	Frequency	Minimum load	Buy-back
I-76 West	Conshohocken, King of Prussia, Reading, Harrisburg	2× weekly	4 units	Yes
I-95 South	Philadelphia, Chester, Wilmington, Baltimore	2× weekly	4 units	Yes
I-95 North	Trenton, New Brunswick, Newark, Elizabeth	Weekly	6 units	Yes
NE Extension	Lansdale, Quakertown, Allentown, Bethlehem	Weekly	6 units	Yes
US-30 West	West Chester, Downingtown, Lancaster, York	Weekly	6 units	Yes
US-202 North	Doylestown, New Hope, Flemington	Weekly	4 units	Yes
Delmarva	Dover, Salisbury, Easton	Fortnightly	10 units	By arrangement

Conversions12 rows

The arithmetic that comes up daily.

Conversions used every day in this yard
From	To	Multiply by	Worked example
US gallons	Litres	3.785	275 gal = 1,041 L
Litres	US gallons	0.2642	1,000 L = 264 gal
US gallons of water	Pounds	8.34	275 gal = 2,294 lb
Pounds	Kilograms	0.4536	2,425 lb = 1,100 kg
Inches	Millimetres	25.4	48" = 1,219 mm
Cubic feet	US gallons	7.481	51 ft³ = 381 gal
Cubic yards	Cubic feet	27	1.4 yd³ = 37.8 ft³
psi	Feet of head (water)	2.31	1.7 psi = 3.9 ft
Feet of head	psi	0.433	24 in stand = 0.87 psi
gpm	Litres per minute	3.785	70 gpm = 265 L/min
kg CO₂e	Miles not driven	2.5	88 kg = 220 miles
kg CO₂e	Mature trees, one year	0.0476	88 kg = 4.2 trees

Vocabulary, in twelve lines

IBC: Intermediate bulk container — anything between a drum and a tanker, in practice 110–550 gallons on a forkliftable base.
Composite IBC: An HDPE bottle inside a welded steel cage on a pallet base. The 275 and 330 gallon workhorses.
Tare: Empty weight of the container: 125–135 lb for a 275, 140–155 lb for a 330.
Gross mass: Container plus contents. Most 275s are rated to 2,800 lb; exceed it and the bottle bulges rather than bursts.
Node: A welded intersection in the cage where load actually transfers. The correct place to inspect.
S60x6: The standard outlet thread: 60 mm OD, 6 mm pitch buttress. Hand tight only.
Prior contents: What the container last held, logged against the original label. The single most consequential fact about any used tote.
Rebottle: A new HDPE bottle fitted into an inspected existing cage — virgin interior, 38% less embodied carbon than new.
Food grade: FDA-compliant resin plus an edible-only prior history plus a documented wash. All three, together.
UN 31HA1: Marking for a composite IBC approved for liquids. Belongs to the assembly and carries a service life.
Regrind: Granulated recycled HDPE. Post-industrial IBC regrind goes to pipe, conduit, pallets — never food contact.
Avoided burden: Environmental cost that did not occur because a container was reused instead of manufactured. Not an offset.

All 58 terms

The yard, in numbers

18,412: containers returned to service, rolling 12 months
91.9%: of intake leaves as a container, not as feedstock
1.62M kg: CO₂e avoided against a new-container baseline
543,000 lb: HDPE granulated into clean regrind in 2025
318,000 lb: steel baled to a regional mill in 2025
0 yd³: container material landfilled — six consecutive years
2,600: containers on the ground at the January peak
11%: of offered loads refused, and referred on
22: people at the Norristown yard, four of them drivers
6: states served by our own trucks

Where and when

IBC Totes PA LLC
800 River Rd
Norristown, PA 19406
hello@ibctotespa.com
quotes@ibctotespa.com
No telephone line — written quotes only.

Opening hours
Mon	7:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Tue	7:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Wed	7:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Thu	7:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Fri	7:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Sat	8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Sun	Closed

Next step

Every tote we keep alive is one that never gets made.

Get a written quote Sell us your empties

Washing, chosen by what was actually in it.

Which wash a residue actually needs.

Washing uses water. Here is what we do about that.

Cycles and records.

Washing — FAQ

Clean them yourself

Food-grade stock

Full reconditioning

The figures behind this page.

The detail, in full.

Four things people believe that are wrong.

Asked and answered.

Further questions

Related reading.

Do it yourself

The temperature trial

Water reclamation, measured

Twelve reference sheets, because you should not have to ask us for a number.

Every tote we keep alive is one that never gets made.