Walk the wall once, and group
Do not walk forty totes one at a time. Stand at the left end and group by what you see. Totes that share a cage, a bottle, a valve, a base and a last product are one group, whatever the count. Most walls are four to eight groups, not forty.
Use the tote grader as you go. Choose what you see, add the count, and move to the next group. At the end you have a lot summary: counts by grade, and a request that already carries them.
The lot sorts itself
A mixed pile at a Moreno Valley or Perris building is usually a handful of piles in disguise. Some totes are plain reuse. Some need a new bottle in a good cage. Some are cages for parts. Some are scrap. The difference changes the answer you get, which is why we ask for counts by grade, not "forty used totes".
Moreno Valley counts over 20 transportation and logistics operators, led in e-commerce floor space by Skechers, Lowe's and Amazon. Buildings of that size generate returns and damaged inbound totes in volume, and the buildings in Ontario, Fontana and Mira Loma around them do too.
| Group | Count | What you see | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 14 | Straight cage, clear bottle, valve works, steel base | Used |
| B | 9 | Straight cage, chalky bottle | Rebottling candidate |
| C | 6 | Bent cage bars, bottle and valve fine | Damaged, parts |
| D | 5 | Cracked bottle, wood base broken | Damaged, recycling |
A sample, to show the shape of a lot. It is not anyone's stock.
Things that slow a lot down
- Unknown last contents. Find the delivery paperwork, the customer, or the SDS.
- Totes still holding product. Do not empty them yourself unless you know what is in them and where it goes; see RCRA empty.
- Totes outdoors in the sun, where bottles chalk. Move the good ones inside if you can.
- No forklift, no dock or no clear aisle. Tell us, so the plan fits the site.
Questions people ask
Do I need to count the totes exactly?
A good estimate by group is enough to start. The grader asks for a count per group.
What if the lot includes totes that held hazardous chemicals?
Say so. Those totes need the SDS, the right permit and an approved carrier, and may not be sold for reuse at all. The request reply will tell you what the next step is.
Sources. Last reviewed 2026-11-11.