Bag-in-box IBC totes: specs and recycling

A different kind of container

IPS News describes the bag-in-box IBC as an inner liner in an outer cardboard cradle for liquids, and says it is single use. There is no bottle to rebottle and no cage to keep.

The liner and the rule

Under 40 CFR 261.7(b)(3), removal of an inner liner is one of the ways a container that held an acute hazardous waste can be made empty. A liner that is removed is itself waste to be handled by the generator.

Do we take it

Mostly no. This site is about caged totes. Tell us what you have through the pickup request and we will say whether it is a fit.

How the liner and cradle are built

An inner liner holds the liquid and an outer cardboard cradle holds the liner. A fitment at the bottom lets the liquid out, and the whole assembly is shipped on a pallet. IPS News gives the capacity as typically up to 950 liters.

Because the cradle is cardboard, the container is not built to be refilled. The inner liner touches the product and is discarded with it.

Why it is a different case

The caged tote’s economics rely on a durable shell. A bag-in-box has none. The material recovered is a plastic liner and a cardboard cradle, each recycled separately where the liner’s plastic and its contents allow it.

For a generator, the liner may be the part that matters under the empty rule. 40 CFR 261.7(b)(3) lists removal of the inner liner as one way a container that held an acute hazardous waste can be made empty.

What to do with one

If you have a bag-in-box and are not sure what to do, describe it in a pickup request. We will say whether it is something this site handles.

Liner removal as a method

Removing the liner is not just a recycling step; it is named in 40 CFR 261.7(b)(3) as one of the ways an acute hazardous waste container becomes empty. That makes the liner, in a bag-in-box, the part of the container that carries the legal weight, and the cardboard is just a cradle.

Capacity in familiar units

A capacity of up to 950 liters is about 250 US gallons. That makes a bag-in-box smaller than a 275 gallon caged tote, which is the size most people on this site mean.

When to ask us anyway

If you hold a mixed run that includes a few bag-in-box containers beside caged totes, list them separately. We will say which part of the run fits this site and which belongs elsewhere, and we will not guess at a price or a date. Photographs of the cradle, the liner fitment and any printed capacity mark let us confirm the type before anyone drives anywhere.