Our peculiar little instrument

The Impact Ledger.

Set the job. It prints a receipt. Carbon, water, oil, energy and landfill airspace that your decision to reuse rather than replace takes off the table — with the assumptions printed underneath, because a green number without a method is just decoration.

Short answer

The Impact Ledger calculates the environmental burden avoided by reusing, rebottling or recycling IBC totes instead of manufacturing new ones. Enter quantity, container size, circular route and service cycles and it prints CO₂e, process water, crude-oil feedstock, primary energy, landfill airspace and material mass avoided.

Baseline: 88 kg CO₂e / container
Routes modelled: 3
Assumptions: Published below
Audited: No — screening tool

Work order · 90-second form

Get the audited version

Ask for the line-item calculation against your own serial numbers and purchase records.

Run it

Set the job on the left. Read the receipt on the right.

Everything recalculates as you move a slider. Nothing is sent anywhere — the arithmetic runs in your browser.

Set the job

How many totes? 24

Container size

275 gal / 1000 L330 gal / 1250 L

Circular route

Reuse as-isWashed Grade A/B tote goes straight back into service.RebottleVeteran cage and pallet kept; only the bottle is renewed.Recycle to regrindEnd of life: HDPE becomes clean regrind instead of landfill.

Service cycles before retirement 3

IBC TOTES PA — NORRISTOWN

CIRCULAR IMPACT LEDGER

800 RIVER RD · MONTGOMERY COUNTY · PA

24 × 275 gal / 1000 LREUSE AS-IS

CO₂e avoided6,336 kg

Process water saved13,680 gal

Crude-oil feedstock spared720 gal

Primary energy avoided30,240 kWh

Landfill airspace kept open100.8 yd³

HDPE + steel kept in service6,840 lb

Roughly equal to 15,840 miles not driven, 302 mature trees working for a year, and 805 showers never taken.

Cradle-to-gate averages: HDPE 1.9 kg CO₂e/kg, tube steel 1.9 kg CO₂e/kg, 76 MJ/kg polymer energy, 24 L/kg process water. A reused container is credited with the full burden of the new container it displaced; rebottling is credited with the retained cage and pallet only.

Not an audited disclosure. Ask us for the line-item version with your serial numbers on it — that one your ESG team can file.

*** KEEP THIS RECEIPT ***

Method

Every coefficient, in the open.

If you disagree with one of these, you can substitute your own and redo the arithmetic. That is the point of publishing them.

Impact Ledger coefficients and sources
Coefficient	Value	Applies to	Basis
HDPE carbon intensity	1.9 kg CO₂e / kg	Bottle	Cradle-to-gate average for virgin HDPE resin
Tube steel carbon intensity	1.9 kg CO₂e / kg	Cage, pallet base	Blended BOF/EAF average for galvanised tube
Polymer energy	76 MJ / kg	Bottle	Primary energy, polymerisation to moulding
Process water	24 L / kg polymer	Bottle	Plus steel finishing allowance
Oil-equivalent feedstock	1.75 kg / kg HDPE	Bottle	Naphtha feedstock plus process fuel
275 gal HDPE mass	18.1 kg (40 lb)	Bottle	Measured across our own intake
275 gal steel mass	25.0 kg (55 lb)	Cage + base	Measured across our own intake
330 gal multiplier	1.18	All	Proportional to material mass
Landfill airspace	1.4 yd³ / container	Whole unit	Uncrushed container volume
Reuse route factor	1.00	Reuse as-is	Displaces a whole new container
Rebottle route factor	0.62	Rebottling	Retains cage and base; bottle renewed
Recycle route factor	0.34	Granulation	Material credit only, no container displaced
Car equivalence	0.4 kg CO₂e / mile	Receipt	US light-vehicle fleet average
Tree equivalence	21 kg CO₂ / year	Receipt	Mature temperate hardwood
Shower equivalence	17 gal	Receipt	US average 8-minute shower

How people use it

Three jobs this thing does.

Procurement justification

Buyers paste the receipt into a purchase memo to justify specifying reconditioned containers over new ones. The number does the arguing so you do not have to.

Sustainability reporting input

Sustainability teams use it as a screening figure before commissioning the line-item version. It gets the order of magnitude right, which is usually what the first conversation needs.

Internal persuasion

Operations managers use it to show a plant manager what the current disposal habit is costing in something other than dollars. It is remarkably effective on a printed page.

Ledger questions

Method and limits.

Impact Ledger — FAQ

Where do the Impact Ledger's numbers come from?

Published cradle-to-gate averages applied to the measured material content of a composite IBC. HDPE at 1.9 kg CO2e per kg and 76 MJ per kg; tube steel at 1.9 kg CO2e per kg; process water at 24 litres per kg of polymer plus steel finishing; crude-oil feedstock at 1.75 kg oil-equivalent per kg of HDPE. A 275 gallon container is taken as 18.1 kg of HDPE and 25 kg of steel. The route factors reflect which of those components each circular path actually retains.

Is this an audited carbon disclosure?

No, and it does not pretend to be. It is a screening tool that produces a defensible order-of-magnitude figure from transparent assumptions. For a disclosure you can file, ask us for the line-item version against your actual serial numbers and purchase records — that one carries our intake and outbound data behind it rather than averages.

Why does reuse count the full burden of a new container?

Because the container you reuse displaces one that would otherwise have been manufactured. That is the standard avoided-burden logic used in comparative lifecycle assessment for reusable packaging. It is also why the service-cycles slider matters: a container reused three times displaces three manufacturing events, not one.

Why is the recycling figure so much lower?

Because granulation recovers material, not a container. Regrind displaces virgin resin at a discount — it has lower value, it cannot enter food-contact markets, and the process consumes energy for transport, washing and grinding. Thirty-four percent is a fair credit for it. Reuse is credited at 100% because it displaces the whole object.

The full argument

Why reuse beats recycling, and what reuse actually costs.

Open

Seven loops

Every route a container can take through this yard, ranked.

Open

Fleet reporting

Quarterly reuse reports built from real serial data, not averages.

Open

Interior of a warehouse with IBC totes racked on orange pallet racking and stacked two high on the floor

The yard

The stock the arithmetic is about

By the numbers

The figures behind this page.

15: published coefficients; So you can disagree with our arithmetic
3: circular routes modelled; Reuse, rebottle, recycle
0: audited claims made; It is a screening tool and says so
4 of 5: baseline choices against us; Conservative by design

Reference

The detail, in full.

Every coefficient, with its basis
Coefficient	Value	Applies to	Basis
HDPE carbon intensity	1.9 kg CO₂e/kg	Bottle	Cradle-to-gate average, virgin resin
Tube steel carbon intensity	1.9 kg CO₂e/kg	Cage, base	Blended BOF/EAF, galvanised tube
Polymer primary energy	76 MJ/kg	Bottle	Polymerisation to moulding
Process water	24 L/kg polymer	Bottle	Plus steel finishing allowance
Oil-equivalent feedstock	1.75 kg/kg HDPE	Bottle	Naphtha plus process fuel
275 gal HDPE mass	18.1 kg	Bottle	Measured across our own intake
275 gal steel mass	25.0 kg	Cage + base	Measured across our own intake
330 gal multiplier	1.18	All	Proportional to material mass
Landfill airspace	1.4 yd³	Whole unit	Uncrushed container volume
Reuse route factor	1.00	Reuse	Displaces a whole new container
Rebottle route factor	0.62	Rebottle	Retains cage and base
Recycle route factor	0.34	Granulation	Material credit only
Car equivalence	0.4 kg CO₂e/mile	Receipt	US light-vehicle fleet average
Tree equivalence	21 kg CO₂/year	Receipt	Mature temperate hardwood
Shower equivalence	17 gal	Receipt	US average 8-minute shower

Baseline choices and which way each one cuts
Choice	Our position	Effect on our number
New-container manufacture as counterfactual	It is what would have been bought	Neutral
Exclude displaced landfill emissions	Too uncertain to claim	Lowers our figure
Blended steel factor	We do not know which mill made each cage	Lowers our figure
Include our own wash water and energy	Honest accounting requires it	Lowers our figure
Attribute backhaul freight at marginal cost	The leg ran regardless	Raises our figure — and we flag it

Received wisdom, examined

Four things people believe that are wrong.

“Green calculators are marketing.”

Most are, because they hide the coefficients. Ours publishes all fifteen with their basis, and four of our five baseline choices work against our own figure.

“This produces an auditable number.”

It produces a defensible order of magnitude from transparent assumptions. For a disclosure, ask for the line-item version against your serial numbers — that one carries our intake and outbound data rather than averages.

“Avoided emissions can be sold or offset.”

No. Reuse reduces your reported footprint by lowering the emissions factor of what you purchase. That is a legitimate, well-established reduction inside your own boundary. It is not an offset and should never be presented as one.

“The service-cycles slider is padding.”

It is the core of the logic. A container reused three times displaces three manufacturing events, not one. That is standard avoided-burden reasoning for reusable packaging.

Asked and answered.

Further questions

Where is the model weakest?

Steel. Blast-furnace and electric-arc production differ by roughly a factor of three and we use a blended average because we cannot know which mill made any given cage. Second weakest is freight, which depends on distances we do not always control. The polymer figures are well characterised and we are comfortable with them.

Can I substitute my own factors?

Please do. The arithmetic is simple and published for exactly that reason. Two customers have come back with lower figures than ours and we adopted their reasoning for their reports.

Does it send my data anywhere?

No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is submitted, stored or transmitted.

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

The Impact Ledger.

Set the job on the left. Read the receipt on the right.

Every coefficient, in the open.

Three jobs this thing does.

Procurement justification

Sustainability reporting input

Internal persuasion

Method and limits.

Impact Ledger — FAQ

The full argument

Seven loops

Fleet reporting

The figures behind this page.

The detail, in full.

Four things people believe that are wrong.

Asked and answered.

Further questions

Related reading.

Before you file it

Why we built it

Where the route factors come from

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.