Food and beverage
Food makers and food distributors are the largest source of totes the desk can place with growers and gardeners. Pureland in Gloucester County, the Route 130 corridor in Camden County and the plants of Northeast Philadelphia and Bensalem put them out by the pallet.
01Why food empties travel well
An ingredient tote, one that held a syrup, an oil, a sauce base or a flavor, has a past that a farm or a garden can accept for water. The product is not toxic, the tote was made for food contact if the label says so and the rinse is simple. That makes ingredient and rinse grades the easiest to place, and the grade with the longest list of buyers.
A food maker’s ticket should say what the ingredient was, whether the tote was made for food, and the count. The desk does the rest.
02Where the volume sits
| Cluster | What is there | Typical lot |
|---|---|---|
| Pureland, Logan Township | Food distribution and logistics on about 3,000 acres | Pallets of rinsed or used totes |
| Route 130, Pennsauken | Food wholesalers and chemical distributors, side by side | By the lot, matched on the street |
| Northeast Philadelphia | Food makers and distribution on the industrial land | Ingredient empties |
| Bensalem | Food manufacturing and warehousing on the Turnpike | Ingredient and packaging lots |
| Camden waterfront | Food manufacturing, scrap and recycling | Both ends of the ladder |
03Food-safe is a claim about history
A tote earns the word food-safe from what it held and how it was kept, not from the colour of the plastic. The desk asks for the record behind the claim, and a gap in it moves the tote down the ladder. A tote with a gap can still serve a farm for water.
04Matching for growers
Mushroom farms in Kennett Square, nurseries in Gloucester County and gardens in the city are the natural buyers. The mushroom page and the farm page set out what they ask for.
05Food contact and the plastic
The federal food-contact rule at 21 CFR 177.1520 lists the olefin polymers, polyethylene among them, that may be used in articles that touch food. The bottle of a caged tote is high-density polyethylene, so the material is not the question for a food maker; the question is whether the tote only ever held food and whether the plant can show it.
06Post the ticket
?Questions on this page
Does the desk buy food totes?
The desk runs a posting board. It does not buy or hold totes.
Is a rinse enough for a garden?
For water, usually, if the last contents were non-toxic. Never for drinking.