New IBC totes: what the grade means

Where it sits

The eight grades run from new to damaged. New is the top. Rebottled and reconditioned follow, with a certified cage and either a new or a cleaned bottle. Everything below them is a used tote with a smaller set of uses.

The grade table is on the grades hub. Use it to see where a used tote will land.

Why it matters to a seller

A buyer who wants a clean start asks for new or rebottled, because they carry no history. If you have a new tote that was never filled, say so in the request; it is an unusual find and we will grade it on what you send.

The plate

A new tote carries a UN plate with the month and year of manufacture. The 2.5 year leakproofness and inspection cycle in 49 CFR 180.352 starts there. Reading the plate shows where each date is.

What “new” rules out

A tote counts as new only if neither part has been used. The bottle has never held a product, and the cage has never carried a tote. A new bottle in a used cage is rebottled, not new. A used bottle in a new cage is an odd combination that we would grade on the bottle’s history. The word is strict because every buyer who asks for new is asking for a clean start.

Why we describe a grade we do not collect

A used-tote recycler does not usually handle new totes, so why is there a page? Because the other seven grades are measured against it. A seller deciding whether a tote is rebottled or reconditioned needs to know what the best case looks like. A buyer comparing a rebottled tote to a new one needs the same.

It also settles a common mix-up. A tote that looks clean and has a pale, unmarked bottle is not new because it looks new. Appearance is not a grade, and the plate and the record are what count.

Where new totes fit in a request

If a site has a few unopened totes left over from a project, send them through the sell request and say they were never filled. That fact turns an ordinary request into an unusual one, and it is worth stating plainly with the plate date.