Bensalem: totes in and out of Bucks County’s biggest industrial township
Bensalem is Bucks County’s biggest industrial township, on I-95 and the Turnpike next to Northeast Philadelphia. Food makers, food distributors and warehouses fill it.
01What sits here
The township’s ZIPs are 19020, 19021 and 19053. Food manufacturing, food distribution, light manufacturing and warehousing are its industries. It is a wide, flat township of low buildings, with the Turnpike interchange at its centre.
| ZIP codes | Industries here | Agency to ask about empties |
|---|---|---|
| 19020, 19021, 19053 | food manufacturing, food distribution, light manufacturing, warehousing | Pennsylvania DEP |
02Who has empties, who needs totes
Food makers and distributors put out ingredient and rinse empties, the grade for gardens and farms. Warehouses put out pallets of packaging totes. Because Bensalem borders Northeast Philadelphia, the two districts share buyers: city gardens on one side and Bucks County farms on the other. A ticket here is rarely more than a few miles from a buyer.
03Roads, rules and the move
I-95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike meet at the township, with US 13 and Street Road serving local trucks. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is the state agency to ask. The Betsy Ross and Tacony-Palmyra bridges are a short run to the south.
04Next door
| Place | ZIP codes | Industries |
|---|---|---|
| Northeast Philadelphia | 19114, 19115, 19116, 19136, 19154, 19135 | food manufacturing, light manufacturing, distribution |
05On the ground
A seller in Bensalem is usually inside a park with a guarded gate, so name the park and the building. A buyer on the Northeast side of the city, such as a garden group, can often take a pickup truck load without a freight trailer. A Bucks County farm further north may prefer a Saturday morning delivery, so say if the weekend works. Street Road and Bristol Pike carry the local deliveries, and the Turnpike toll is worth counting when a lot is small.
06Weather, season and timing
Summer heat softens plastic and makes totes harder to strap on a flatbed, while January frost can crack a bottle that sat full outside. Bensalem sellers should therefore tell the desk the month the totes were last moved. Spring is the busy season for gardens and nurseries, so a posted lot in March or April finds a buyer faster than the same lot in December, when the beds are bare and the water barrels are drained.
07A ticket from here
- Put one of the ZIP codes from the first table on the ticket.
- Say whether the lot is ingredient empties or packaging, and the count.
?Questions on this page
Why does Bensalem have its own page?
It is Bucks County’s biggest industrial township and sits next to a different county’s district.
Which ZIPs are covered?
19020, 19021 and 19053.