Last contents: the one thing to know about a tote

Why the last contents come first

A tote is a bottle with a memory. High-density polyethylene takes up traces of what it holds, and a cage and valve carry residue in places a rinse does not reach. That is why a food ingredient tote, a glycol tote and a biocide tote end up in three different places even when all three are empty.

The grade comes from the history. A tote that only ever held a food ingredient can be reused or sold for food or water use if the paperwork shows it. A tote that held an industrial chemical can be reused for the same product, reconditioned, or recycled. A tote that held something unknown is a recycle-only tote.

Where to find them

• The old product label, usually on the bottle or the cage, with the product name and the supplier. Do not peel it off.
• The delivery paperwork, which names the product by its trade name and often its supplier.
• The SDS, which the site keeps for every product it stores. It gives the specific gravity, the hazards and the cleaning guidance.
• Your purchasing records, if the label has gone.

If none of these survive, say so. Unknown is a legitimate answer on the request. It is better than a guess.

What the SDS tells you

The SDS gives the specific gravity that the Empty Check needs, the hazard class that tells you whether the tote may be hazardous waste, the compatible cleaning liquids, and the first-aid and spill notes. It also names the supplier, which is sometimes a take-back route for the product.

What to send with a request

Name the last contents in the message box of the pickup request. Add the size, how many totes, and whether the SDS is to hand. If a tote holds more than one product over its life, name the most hazardous one.

Run the Empty Check first when you can. Its ticket carries the contents, the capacity, the heel and the verdict into the request. Whether a tote is empty is the generator's decision, and the generator keeps the SDS.