Plain answers
Each answer is short and links to the page that goes deeper. If your question is not here, send it through the quote form.
Questions people ask
Who buys used IBC totes?
Blenders and beverage plants buy rebottled and reconditioned totes for repeat fills. Growers and nurseries buy a few clean-history totes for irrigation water. Rebottlers buy good cages. Recyclers take the steel and HDPE from scrap. See what sells and what recycles.
What is the difference between a rebottled and a reconditioned IBC tote?
Rebottled means a new HDPE bottle in a used, inspected steel cage. Reconditioned means the original bottle and cage, cleaned and certified. The comparison page sets them side by side.
Can I sell a tote with a broken valve or a bent cage?
Yes, as damaged. A broken valve is a part swap, so the tote can still be worth reusing. A bent cage ends reuse until it is straightened or replaced, and a cracked weld is worse. Say which it is in the request. The damaged totes page explains the routes.
Is a rinsed tote food grade?
No. Rinsing flushes the inside and leaves the original bottle in. Food grade needs documented food-only history or a new bottle. Food-grade history, explained.
How do I protect an IBC tote from the sun?
Cover it, shade it or keep it indoors. UV chalks and yellows the bottle, and a chalky bottle is retired. Desert sun and your tote.
Are rain barrels legal in California?
California's Rainwater Capture Act of 2012 authorizes residential, commercial and governmental landowners to install and operate rain barrel and rainwater capture systems. Rain barrels and California law.
How often does an IBC tote need to be retested?
For liquids shipped under the federal rules, a leakproofness test every 2.5 years from the date of manufacture or repair. Tote retest dates.
What does 31HA1 mean on an IBC tote?
A composite IBC with a plastic inner receptacle and a steel outer packaging, designed for liquids. Reading a tote's UN plate.
When is a tote that held hazardous waste considered empty?
For a container over 119 gallons, when it has been pumped out with no more than one inch, or 0.3 percent of capacity by weight, left. Acute waste needs a triple rinse. When a tote counts as empty.
Can I store gasoline or diesel in an IBC tote?
Not in a plastic one. Plastic and composite IBCs should never be used for Class I flammable liquids. What never goes in a plastic tote.
How do I keep mosquitoes out of a rainwater tote?
Screen every opening. Mosquitoes and rain totes.
What are the dimensions of a 275 gallon tote?
48 inches by 40 inches on the base and about 46 inches tall. A 330 gallon tote has the same base and stands 53 inches tall. IBC tote dimensions.
Sources. Last reviewed 2026-11-11.