Sell your empty totes

Who sends us totes

Empties come from a short list of kinds of business: importers and forwarders who receive liquid ingredients by the tote, cleaning and chemical blenders, food and beverage plants, nurseries and farms that bought concentrate by the tote, and construction suppliers that took delivery of admixture. A tote that has done its work is an asset, and a stack on the dock is an expense in floor space.

From what you describe, a tote can follow one of three paths. Some go on to growers and households as rinsed or reconditioned stock. Some go to a washer. Some, once cracked or crushed, go to a recycler for their steel and HDPE. Our reply names the likely path. We do not promise a price, since the last contents and the condition set what a tote is worth.

What decides whether a tote has a second life

Three things: the last contents, the state of the bottle and cage, and the paperwork. A bottle that held a food ingredient or a harmless cleaner is easy to place. A bottle that held a regulated product needs a rinse record or a clear definition of empty under federal rules. A tote with a cracked bottle but a straight cage can still be useful, since a cage can take a new bottle.

A short word on what we do not do

We are not a licensed waste hauler or a treatment facility, and we do not take hazardous waste. If a tote holds more than a heel of a regulated product, it has to go through the generator's own waste channel, with a manifest. We can tell you which of the five paths below fits your situation, and we say so plainly when the answer is that you need someone licensed.

What happens to your request

Your request goes to a person who reads it and writes back. The reply names the grades we would assign, the path for each group, and anything we need to confirm, such as a safety data sheet or a photo of a plate. If the load is outside what we handle, we say so and point you toward the right kind of business. You are never signed up for a list, and the email address on the form is used to reply to you.

When we say no

We say no to hazardous waste, to loads we cannot identify, to totes that are leaking, and to anything that needs a licence we do not hold. We say it quickly and give the reason, so you can look for the right vendor, whether that is a licensed waste hauler, a recycler or the supplier who sold you the product, or your own environmental manager.

What helps us say yes

Give the number of totes, the size on the plate, the last contents, the condition of the cage and the valve, the street and ZIP, and whether a forklift or a dock is on site. Add photographs if you can. Say whether you want to be paid, to swap, or to have them taken away. With this information we can answer in a single email.

What we will not promise

We will not promise a price, a pickup date or a purchase of every tote offered. We will promise to read your message, to answer plainly, and to say no early when the answer is no. That is a smaller promise than some buyers make, and a more reliable one.

Photos that help most

Three photographs are enough: the whole stack from a few steps back, the plate on one tote, and the access path to the gate. Add a close picture of any damage you want to mention, so the reply can address it directly instead of guessing.

A word on small counts

Small counts are welcome in the form. A household with one tote and a business with fifty tote stacks both send the same facts: size, count, last contents and place. Do not wait to have a full load before asking, and do not round up the count; an accurate number is more useful than a large one.