IBC·RecycleReuse · Recondition · Return
Livonia, MI · Est. 2009Contact Us

Knowledge base

Buying used
equipment is an
information problem.

So we write down what we know. These are the articles our own crew sends to customers, including the ones that argue against buying from us.

11 articlesNo gated PDFsNo sales copy
Got a question we have not written up?The good ones become articles

* requiredPhone & postal code: US or Canada onlyQuantity 1–10,000

No phone calls from us — we answer by email from sales@ibc-recycle.com. Privacy

The library

Filter, search, read

Nothing here is behind a form. If an article saves you from buying the wrong tote — even from someone else — it has done its job.

Showing 11 of 11 articles

Buying7 min

Is it really food grade? A 6-point field check

Sellers say 'food grade' a lot. Here is how to verify it in ninety seconds with your own eyes and nose.

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Sizing6 min

275 vs 330 gallon: the decision nobody documents

Same footprint, different height — and that height quietly decides whether your dock, your trailer and your mixer still work.

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Ecology9 min

The carbon math of reconditioning a tote

We show the whole arithmetic — resin, steel, trucking, washing — instead of printing a green leaf and hoping you don't ask.

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Compliance8 min

UN markings decoded, character by character

31HA1/Y means something very specific. Here is the whole string, translated.

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Grades5 min

Washed, rinsed, rebottled: what each word actually buys you

Four words, four very different interiors, four very different prices.

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Reuse10 min

Eleven ways growers put a used tote back to work

From gravity-fed drip lines to calf waterers — field-tested reuses with the fittings you need for each.

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Reuse11 min

Rainwater harvesting with a food-grade tote

A full build: downspout to overflow, with the two mistakes that turn a rain tank into a mosquito farm.

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Safety7 min

Stacking, storing and strapping totes without a claim

Load height, bottle fatigue, UV, freeze expansion and the three stack rules our drivers never break.

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Selling6 min

Selling your used totes: a seven-step checklist

What to photograph, what to disclose, how to stage a load — and what quietly kills your price.

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Reconditioning5 min

Cage repair or replace? The 40-second triage

Bent tubes, popped welds, rusted feet. What we fix, what we scrap, and why.

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Ecology8 min

How many lives does one tote really have?

We tracked cages through our own yard for a decade. The honest answer is 'it depends' — but here's the distribution.

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Still unsure after reading?

Send the form with your actual situation. We would rather talk you out of a bad purchase than process a return.