Who buys IBC totes from warehouses
A warehouse with a stack of emptied totes has a floor-space problem and a valuable-asset problem at once. The way out is a clear count, a clear grade and a clear path, and most stacks can be sorted in a morning if someone has written the facts down.
Why stacks of empties pile up
Totes arrive full and leave empty, and the empty ones are not on anyone's receiving schedule. A forklift driver sets them in the corner of the yard. The next shift moves them again. Within a season there are two dozen, then fifty, and the bottles collect rainwater, leaves and mosquito larvae while the cages rust from the base up. Nobody decided to keep them; they simply became nobody's job.
In South Florida the cost compounds. A tote left uncovered through a wet season fills with water, which adds weight and breeds mosquitoes. A tote left uncovered through hurricane season can tumble across a yard in a bad wind. A short-term fix is a tarp and a strap; the real fix is a place to send them.
The five-minute sort
- Count the totes by size: 275 gallon and 330 gallon.
- Read the label or the SDS on each and note the last contents.
- Photograph one plate per group, and any damaged unit separately.
- Put damaged units in their own corner, strapped and covered.
- Write the numbers on a load sheet and send it with the request.
A stack sorted this way is quick to quote. A stack that is not sorted gets a conservative answer, because we cannot tell a clean food-grade bottle from a heel of something else.
Which stacks are easiest to place
- A single known last contents, such as one food ingredient or one cleaning product.
- Totes with closed caps and valves that have been kept dry.
- A mix of sizes that is already counted.
- Cages without rust at the welds and pallet bases without cracks.
- Totes that have been rinsed and carry a record of the rinse.
A stack of unknowns is still possible to place, but it takes longer and goes to the cheaper end of the grade scale until someone identifies the contents.
Doral, Medley and the port belts
Stacks of empties tend to build up where liquid ingredients and chemicals arrive in volume, such as warehouse districts, and floor space there costs money. A forwarder with fifty empties on the dock may pay more in lost pallet positions than the totes would have earned back on a quick sale.
Questions people ask
How many totes do I need for a pickup?
There is no minimum for a request. Larger counts are easier to quote.
What if the tote labels are gone?
Tell us. We treat unlabeled totes as unknown and grade them accordingly.
Can empties stay outside until pickup?
Cover them, strap them, and keep caps closed so they do not fill with rain.
Do I have to wash them first?
No. Tell us what they held and we say what happens next.
Who should send the request?
Anyone who can describe the totes and confirm the count.
Tell us about your stack
Count, sizes, last contents and a photo of one plate.
Prefer email? Write to info@miamiusedtotes.com. We do not post a phone number or a yard address.