Recycling & resin recovery
The last stop. Not the default one.
01 / PROCESS
Zone G
From condemned tote to saleable material
Strip
Bottle, cage, pallet, valve and gasket separated by hand.
Granulate
Bottles cut to flake in a granulator with a screen-sized output.
Wash-float
Flake washed and separated by density. Labels and fines float off.
Dewater
Screw press plus warm air to a stable moisture level.
Pack & ship
Gaylords, weighed and lot-numbered, sold to moulders and compounders.
02 / STREAMS
Four materials out, one residual
HDPE regrind
The main output. Natural-colour blow-moulding grade flake, washed and dewatered, sold by the gaylord with a lot number and a declared source class. Buyers are mostly regional moulders making non-food products — pallets, drainage pipe, agricultural film cores.
Steel
Cages and steel pallets that fail inspection are baled and go to a regional mill. Galvanised tube has real scrap value, which means recovery here is economically automatic rather than an act of virtue.
Pallet wood and plastic
Wooden pallets are sorted for repair or chipped. Plastic pallets are granulated separately — they are usually a different polymer from the bottle and contaminating the HDPE stream would destroy its value.
The residual 0.6%
Fouled gasket rubber, mixed fasteners and dewatered wash sludge. This is the stream we cannot currently recover and it is the top item on our 2027 project list. We would rather name it than round it to zero.
Regrind specification
- PolymerHDPE, blow-moulding grade
- ColourNatural translucent
- FormGranulated flake
- Screen size8–12 mm nominal
- MoistureUnder 1%
- PackagingGaylord, ≈900–1,100 lb
- Lot traceabilityYes, by source class
- Food contactNo — industrial use only
Why we say reuse first, loudly
Recycling a bottle costs grinding energy, wash water, drying heat, freight and a measurable loss of polymer chain length every cycle. Reusing the same bottle costs a wash. Recycling is the right answer at end of life and the wrong answer at any point before it.
A / SPECIFICATION
Reference
Dimensions, fittings and seat materials
Fig. 1
Fig. 2| Capacity | Litres | Footprint | Height | Tare | Gross (water) | Stack loaded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 275 gal | 1,041 | 48 × 40 in | 46 in | ≈140 lb | ≈2,435 lb | 2 high |
| 330 gal | 1,249 | 48 × 40 in | 53 in | ≈155 lb | ≈2,905 lb | 2 high |
| 350 gal | 1,325 | 48 × 40 in | 56 in | ≈165 lb | ≈3,075 lb | 2 high |
| 120 gal | 454 | 40 × 32 in | 38 in | ≈95 lb | ≈1,095 lb | 2 high |
| 180 gal | 681 | 42 × 36 in | 42 in | ≈115 lb | ≈1,616 lb | 2 high |
| 550 gal | 2,082 | 60 × 48 in | 60 in | ≈240 lb | ≈4,830 lb | 1 high |
B / FITTINGS
What threads onto it
Fittings, threads and seat materials
| Fitting | Size | Seals by | Seat options | Typical service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S60x6 butterfly valve | 2 in | Flat gasket face | EPDM, Viton, PTFE | The standard IBC outlet |
| S70x6 butterfly valve | 2 in | Flat gasket face | EPDM, Viton | European and some 330 gal units |
| 2 in NPT ball valve, poly | 2 in | Thread flanks + tape | EPDM, Viton | Retrofits, metered dispensing |
| 2 in NPT ball valve, stainless | 2 in | Thread flanks + tape | PTFE | Solvents, pressure, hot cargo |
| 3 in butterfly valve | 3 in | Flat gasket face | EPDM, Viton | Viscous cargo, high flow |
| 6 in fill cap | 6 in | Gasketed lid | EPDM, silicone | Vented or solid — choose deliberately |
| Camlock adapter, type C | 1.5 / 2 in | Cam arms + gasket | Buna, Viton | Repeated connect / disconnect |
| Bulkhead tap | 3/4 in | Both-side gaskets | Brass, poly | Rain kits, site water |
| Material | Good with | Avoid with | Temperature | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPDM | Water, acids, caustics, brine, ag-chem | Oils, fuels, aromatics | -40 to 250 °F | Low |
| Viton (FKM) | Solvents, oils, fuels, aromatics | Ketones, amines, hot steam | -15 to 400 °F | High |
| Nitrile (NBR) | Oils, diesel, greases, hydraulics | Ozone, strong oxidisers | -30 to 250 °F | Low |
| PTFE envelope | Almost all chemistry, high purity | Needs very flat flange faces | -100 to 450 °F | High |
| Silicone | Food contact, wide temperature | Solvents, abrasion | -60 to 450 °F | Medium |
E / GRADING
A grade is a promise, not a mood
How every unit is scored
| # | Point | Critical? |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Prior cargo declaration — present, written, specific | Yes |
| 02 | Residual liquid — any volume at all | Yes |
| 03 | Odour after wash — fixed odour by trained nose | Yes |
| 04 | Bottle corner stress whitening | No |
| 05 | Interior scoring you can feel | No |
| 06 | Interior crazing — fine surface cracking | Yes |
| 07 | Bottle bulge or deformation | Yes |
| 08 | Wall thickness at the thinnest point | Yes |
| 09 | Dome port condition and flange flatness | No |
| 10 | Outlet threads — cross-threading, chipping | Yes if crossed |
| 11 | Valve function, full open and close | No, replaceable |
| 12 | Gasket condition — compression set, bloom | No, replaceable |
| 13 | Cage squareness along the top rail | No, pressable |
| 14 | Cage weld integrity at tube intersections | Yes |
| 15 | Cage coating and galvanising loss | No |
| 16 | Pallet condition — cracked feet, rot, corrosion | No, replaceable |
| 17 | Forklift pocket integrity | No |
| 18 | UN marking legibility and date | No, re-markable |
| 19 | Leak test under our procedure | Yes |
D / ORDERING
Commercial terms, up front
Lead times, minimums and what happens when it goes wrong
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Minimum order | One unit. No account minimum, no membership. |
| Stock lead time | Grade A and B 275 gal usually ship the same week |
| Rebottled lead time | 2–3 weeks, built to order in bay D |
| Food-grade lead time | 1–3 weeks when stock exists; supply-dependent |
| Full truckload | 45 on a 48 ft flat, 48 in a 53 ft van, 90 empties double-stacked |
| Payment, first order | Prepay by ACH or card |
| Payment, established | Net 30 on credit approval |
| Grade guarantee | Regrade or replace, our freight both ways, 14 days |
| Leak warranty | 30 days from delivery, normal atmospheric service |
| Cancellation | Free until the truck is loaded |
| Returns | 14 days on unused stock units, freight at your cost |
| Sales tax | Indiana resale certificates and out-of-state equivalents accepted |
G / PITFALLS
Learned the expensive way
Five mistakes that cost people money
Ordering a 330 without measuring the ceiling
A 275 and a 330 share a footprint; the 330 is seven inches taller. Two 330s stacked is 110 inches against 96 for two 275s, and most sprinkler regimes want eighteen inches of clearance below the deflector. That seven inches is frequently the whole margin.
Forcing an NPT fitting into an S60x6 port
Both are roughly two inches, so it bites and feels tight. It is not sealing, it is chewing the buttress thread. The joint weeps two days later, usually in transit, and cross-threading is one of the few faults that condemns an otherwise perfect bottle.
Reusing a flange gasket
A gasket is a one-use part the moment it has taken a compression set. Reusing one is the cause of most 'the new valve still leaks' emails we get. They cost a couple of dollars. Keep a box at the fill point.
Specifying a solid lid on a tote that sees sun
Sealed container, rising temperature, nowhere for the expansion to go. The bottle bulges between the cage bars and does not fully return. A vented lid is the cheapest risk control in this industry.
Ignoring specific gravity
A full 275 of water is 2,435 lb. The same tote of UAN 32 is 3,168 lb, and a 330 is 3,785 lb. Plenty of lift-gates are rated at 2,500 or 3,000 lb, and the rating assumes a centred load.
F / END OF LIFE
Reuse first, recycle last
What happens when the container is finally finished
| Step | Outcome | Share of mass | Cost to us |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Reuse as is — wash and redeploy | 63.9% | 11 gal of mostly reclaimed water |
| 02 | Repair and reuse — valve, gasket, pallet, cage | 11.4% | Parts and bench time |
| 03 | Rebottle — new bottle, reclaimed steel | 9.6% | A new bottle, two thirds of mass retained |
| 04 | Upcycle — rain kits, grow beds, wash stations | 3.2% | Fabrication time |
| 05 | Material recovery — HDPE regrind, steel, wood | 11.3% | Grinding, washing, drying energy |
| 06 | Residual to licensed disposal | 0.6% | Sludge, gasket rubber, fasteners, laminates |
Material in, material out