Industry
Construction and utility yards: empty IBC totes
Construction is the largest private user of the District’s production, distribution and repair land, at 266 acres. Government and utility users hold another 1,124 acres. Their yards empty totes of admixtures, additives and fluids.
- Usual last contents
- Admixtures, fuel additives, fluids
- Usual grades
- Rinsed, as-is, recycle
- Where in the metro
- Ward 5, New York Avenue NE
- PDR land
- Construction 266 acres; government and utility 1,124
Land and numbers
The DC Office of Planning report counts 701 acres of private PDR land: construction 266, wholesale trade 123, transportation and warehousing 88, manufacturing 59 and other industries 165. Government and utility users own or operate 1,124 acres, 62% of the total.
What the yards empty
A concrete or paving contractor takes admixtures and additives in totes. A fleet takes fluids and cleaners. A utility depot takes treatment chemicals. Totes in yards sit outside, so rain is the usual problem.
Storing empties outside explains how to keep rainwater from turning a clean tote into one with a heel.
Staging a yard
A yard with a forklift can row totes by grade and stack empty caged totes. Clearing a dock or yard lays out the tally to send.
Where on the map
Most of the District’s PDR land is in Ward 5. The New York Avenue NE page covers the corridor.
What goes into a contractor’s tote
Concrete admixtures change how concrete sets and flows. Fuel additives treat the diesel in the fleet. Release agents, curing compounds and cleaners finish the list. All can be bought in totes when the volume justifies it.
| Contents | Used for | Typical next step |
|---|---|---|
| Admixtures | Concrete mixes | Rinsed or recycle |
| Fuel additives | Fleet diesel | Chemical empties route |
| Cleaners | Equipment and floors | As-is, rinsed or recycle |
| Fluids | Vehicle and equipment maintenance | Chemical empties route |
The utility side
The District’s government and utility users hold 62% of the PDR land. A utility depot is a yard with a long list of operating chemicals, and a depot manager is usually the person who decides what leaves.
A utility may be both a generator and a regulator of others. Ask the environmental office how it classifies its empties.
Weather and yards
A yard has no roof, and rain finds its way into any open tote. Water in a cage makes a heel that is not product. Read storing empties outside and keep caps tight.
Questions people ask
Do construction totes qualify for reuse?
Sometimes, for the same product. Many go to recycling.
What about totes that sat in the rain?
Water in the bottle needs draining and the heel measured again. A stained bottle may lose a grade.
Who is the generator on a job site?
It depends on who owns the waste. Ask before anything moves.
Keep reading
- Washington, DCUsed IBC totes in the District come from Ward 5 yards, New York Avenue NE and utility land. The Office of Planning counts the acres; DOEE sets the rules.
- Storing empties outsideKeeping emptied totes outdoors until pickup: caps on, sun and UV, stacking empties, and keeping rain out of a tote that held chemicals.
- Clearing a dock or yardHow to get a run of emptied totes off a loading dock, chiller yard or lab with little room: count, grade, stage and request removal.
Sources
- Production, distribution and repair land use report (DC Office of Planning)
- New York Avenue NE roadmap (DC Office of Planning)
- Register as a hazardous waste generator (DC DOEE)
Last reviewed . General guidance, not legal advice.