How Reusing IBC Totes Fits Into Your Supply Chain

For many businesses that use IBC totes, containers are an afterthought. Totes arrive full, get emptied, and sit in a corner until someone decides what to do with them. Meanwhile they take up floor space, get in the way, and keep aging.

Treating totes as part of your supply chain, rather than as leftovers, makes operations smoother. This article covers the points to weigh when you bring used totes into your operation and plan what happens to your empties. Every operation differs, so use it as a checklist rather than a formula.

The Hidden Costs of Poor Container Management

The cost of a tote is more than what you pay for it. Before changing anything, look at where containers create work in your operation:

• •Floor space: Empty totes occupy the same footprint as full ones, about 40 x 48 in each, unless they are stacked within their rating.
• •Handling time: Someone has to move, sort, and arrange removal of empties.
• •Disposal: Hauling totes away as waste can bring a cost, and you lose whatever reuse value they had.
• •Safety: Stray totes can block aisles and become damaged by forklifts.
• •Aging stock: Unused totes still age. Gaskets dry out, and the plate dates keep passing.

Point 1: Decide Where Used Totes Fit

New totes are not needed for every job. Reusing a tote avoids building a new one, and for many non-regulated uses a good used or rebottled tote does the same job, with the same footprint and the same handling. Where the product is regulated, or where a customer or auditor has requirements, your choice may be narrower.

Sort your uses into groups: which jobs need a new tote or new bottle, and which can take a used tote? Used vs. new IBC totes covers that decision. Pricing comes by quote from partner suppliers, so get a current quote for your own comparison.

Point 2: Look at Selling Empties

Before paying to have empties hauled away, find out whether someone wants them. Used totes can have resale or material value, depending on condition, what they held, and local demand. Keep empties clean, closed, and out of the weather to protect that value.

Some totes may have no resale value, and some cannot be taken at all, depending on what they held. See how selling works for details.

Point 3: Avoid Holding Too Many Totes

Some businesses stockpile totes because they are unsure of availability. That ties up cash and floor space, and the stock keeps aging while it waits. A leaner approach usually works better:

• •Know your usage: Work out how many totes you go through in a normal month and in a busy month.
• •Set a buffer: Hold enough to cover normal swings and a delay in supply, and no more.
• •Ask about availability early: Used tote supply can vary, and availability depends on the supplier, so raise larger needs well ahead of time.
• •Use oldest first: Rotate stock so totes do not sit unused while their plate dates pass.
• •Store them well: Keep spare totes out of sunlight, and close caps and valves.

Point 4: Think in a Loop

A simple way to plan is to view totes as a cycle rather than a one-way trip: buy used, use them, then send the empties back toward reuse or recycling.

• •Simpler logistics: Where one supplier can handle both delivery and pickup, coordination gets easier. Availability depends on the supplier.
• •Less waste: Totes go toward reuse or recycling rather than the dumpster.
• •Cleaner floors: Empties leave on a planned basis rather than piling up.

Point 5: Use Reuse in Your Sustainability Reporting

If your business reports on sustainability, reused and recycled totes can be a modest, concrete item. Stick to what you can back up: how many totes you bought used, how many you sent on, and where they went. A statement such as "reusing a tote avoids building a new one" is easy to stand behind. Broad claims and unsupported figures are not.

Getting Started

You do not need to change everything at once. Start with whatever is causing the most trouble:

1. Buying new for every job: Review which uses could take used or rebottled totes.
2. Paying to dispose of empties: Find out whether they can be sold or recycled instead.
3. Empties piling up: Set a regular point to clear them, and assign someone to it.
4. Running out at bad times: Work out your usage and set a sensible buffer.

IBC Recycling Chicago takes requests from Chicago and the Chicagoland area and passes them to partner suppliers for buying, selling, and recycling totes. Availability depends on the supplier, and pricing comes by quote. Request a quote with your quantities, and a partner supplier follows up.