Service
Cracked bottle, bent cage: what happens to a damaged tote
A cracked bottle or a bent cage is not the end of a tote. A sound cage can take a new bottle, which is rebottling, and a bottle that cannot be reused is shredded into regrind while a ruined cage goes to steel recycling.
Which damage still allows rebottling
Rebottling puts a new HDPE bottle in a used, inspected galvanized steel cage. The cage is what makes it worth doing. A cage with straight tubes, sound welds and an intact pallet base can take a new bottle, so a cracked or punctured bottle in that cage is a rebottling candidate.
| What is damaged | Usual outcome |
|---|---|
| Bottle cracked or punctured, cage sound | Rebottled: new bottle in the used cage |
| Valve will not seal | Valve replaced; the tote may still be reconditioned |
| Pallet broken, rest sound | Pallet replaced or the tote reracked |
| Cage bent or welds cracked, bottle sound | Bottle reused if allowed, or regrind; cage to steel |
| Bottle and cage both damaged | Bottle to regrind, cage to steel |
Which damage goes to regrind and steel
A bottle is regrind when it is cracked beyond use, stained by a product that cannot be washed out, or past its useful life. A cage is steel when its tubes are bent, its welds are cracked or rust has gone through the galvanizing. Both then follow the cage-and-bottle route, and the bottle's own story is in how a tote’s HDPE is recycled.
None of this is decided by looks alone. The last contents come first, because a bottle that held a product the wash line cannot lift cannot be recycled however good its wall.
A damaged tote is still not empty until it is
A cracked bottle can still hold a heel, and a cracked bottle with an inch or more of product in it is not an empty container. Under 40 CFR 261.7 it is hazardous waste until it is pumped out. Do not move it. Contain it, and call a licensed hazardous-waste hauler.
Run the Empty Check first, even on a damaged tote. If it passes, the damage decides the lane. If it does not, we take no request for it.
What to say in the request
Say which part is damaged: bottle, cage, valve or pallet. Add a description in words ("hairline crack near the valve", "two cage tubes bent") and the last contents. The damaged grade page shows what the grade means for a seller.
Send it through the pickup request. If several totes are damaged, group them in the message by the same list the removal page uses.
Photographs that help
- The whole tote from the valve side.
- The crack or bend, with a coin or a rule for scale.
- The plate.
- The fill cap and valve.
- The cage welds at the base.
Five photographs say more than a paragraph about what is wrong, and they let us tell a rebottling candidate from a steel one.
Questions people ask
Can a tote with a cracked bottle be moved?
Only if it is empty. Otherwise contain it and call a licensed hazardous-waste hauler.
Keep reading
- Damaged (scrap)A damaged tote has a cracked bottle, bent cage, broken pallet or a valve that will not seal. See what it is good for.
- RebottledA rebottled tote is a brand new HDPE bottle in a used, certified steel cage. See how a cracked bottle becomes one and who uses them.
- Cage and bottleWhen a tote cannot be reused, the HDPE bottle goes to regrind and the galvanized steel cage to rebottling or steel recycling.
- Request a pickupRequest pickup of empty IBC totes in the DC metro. Tell us size, grade, last contents and truck access, and send the SDS if you have it.
Sources
- 40 CFR 261.7, Residues of hazardous waste in empty containers (Cornell LII)
- IBC tote specifications (ibctanks.com)
- 330 gallon IBC tote dimensions (Container Exchanger)
Last reviewed . General guidance, not legal advice.
The request
Request a pickup
Tell us the size, how many and where the totes are. Send the SDS for the last contents if you have it; it decides where each tote goes.
Totes that are not empty need a licensed hazardous-waste hauler. We take no request for those.