What an IBC tote is, and the rest of the paperwork

01What an IBC tote is

The standard IBC holds about 1,000 litres. The sizes in common use are 1,040 litres, which is 275 US gallons, and 1,250 litres, which is 330. They stand on a 48 by 40 inch base, close to a standard pallet, and a caged tote is 46 or 53 inches high depending on size. Sizes run from 110 gallons up to 793 gallons (3,000 litres), the most a rigid IBC can hold under the U.S. definition, but 275 and 330 are the two the desk matches.

The commonest build is the caged composite, coded 31HA1 on its plate: a high-density polyethylene bottle in a galvanized steel cage. All-plastic, metal and bag-in-box totes exist, each on its own sizes-and-types page.

02Which guide to read

03How these guides are written

Each guide answers its question in the first two sentences, gives the detail after, links the source of any claim about law or standards, and shows a last-reviewed date. They end by sending you to your own permit, hauler or regulator, because the rule that applies to a tote depends on what it held and where it is.

→In Guides

• RCRA emptyWhat 40 CFR 261.7 says about empty totes over 119 gallons, when a triple rinse is required, and what that means before a tote is sold.
• Three-state rulesWhich agency handles empty containers and rinse water in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, kept apart state by state.
• Reading the UN plateEvery mark on an IBC's UN plate explained: 31HA1, packing group letter, manufacture date, stacking test load and maximum gross mass.
• StackingHow many totes can stack, empty or full, depends on the tote: why the answer is on its UN plate and what else to check.
• Retest datesThe 2.5-year leakproofness test, the 5-year internal inspection, and what an out-of-date tote is still good for.
• Dimensions and weightsFootprint, height, capacity and empty and full weights for 275 and 330 gallon totes, with gallons, liters, pounds and kilograms checked.
• 275 vs 330How a 275 and a 330 gallon tote differ in height, capacity and use, and which one a plant, a farm or a gardener should ask for.
• Cleaning a toteRinsing, washing and reconditioning compared: what each removes, what it leaves, and when selling the tote beats cleaning it.
• Last contents and the SDSWhy a tote's last contents and its safety data sheet decide where it can go next, and how to find them on a used tote.
• Fuel in totesWhy plastic and composite totes are not for Class I flammables like gasoline, what the fire code allows for diesel, and when a metal IBC fits.
• Valves and fittingsButterfly and ball valves, thread types, camlocks and fill caps: what to check on a used tote before it goes to work.
• Drinking waterWhy a used IBC tote is not sold for drinking water, what a food-grade history does and doesn't prove, and safer options for stored water.
• What sets the priceGrade, retest date, last contents, size and count: what moves the value of a used IBC tote, for sellers and buyers, without a price list.
• Rebottled vs reconditionedA rebottled tote has a new bottle in a used cage; a reconditioned one keeps its bottle. What that means for chemical, food and water use.
• Totes per truckHow 275 and 330 gallon totes load on a 53-foot trailer, single and double stacked, and how loads are counted on a ticket.