§ 03.7Products / Upcycled Builds
A bottle that
failed a pressure test
is still watertight.
A tote that cannot be trusted with a chemical under transport vibration is perfectly trustworthy holding rainwater in a field. Eleven formats, cut and fitted in the same building that retired the bottle — and most of them will outlive their original chemical service life by a decade.
- Formats
- 11
- Source
- Retired bottles only
- HDPE saved
- 38 lb / build
- Pressure rating
- Atmospheric only
§ 03.7.1The catalog
Eleven things to do with a retired bottle.
Every build below starts from a bottle that failed our pressure test. None of them involves moulding a single pound of new plastic.
B-01
Rain harvester
Top-cut bottle with a debris screen, overflow bulkhead and a 2-inch bottom draw-off. Linkable in series for larger storage.
- 275 or 330 gal
- Screened inlet
- Linkable
- Gravity or pump feed
B-02
Aquaponics sump
Full-height bottle with side bulkheads for inlet and return, plus a drain. Cage retained for structural support under load.
- Side bulkheads
- Cage retained
- Drain fitted
- Food-safe stock only
B-03
Raised planter bed
Bottle cut longitudinally into two troughs, drainage perforated, mounted in half cage sections at working height.
- 2 beds per tote
- Drainage perforated
- Cage-mounted
- Waist height
B-04
Livestock waterer
Low-profile open-top trough with a float-valve boss, drain plug and reinforced rim. Cage retained as a kick guard.
- Float valve boss
- Drain plug
- Reinforced rim
- Kick guard
B-05
Jobsite washdown station
Elevated bottle on a cut cage stand with a tap manifold, soap tray and catch basin. Forklift-portable as one unit.
- Tap manifold
- Catch basin
- Forklift portable
- Gravity fed
B-06
Compost tumbler
Horizontal bottle on a rolling cage frame with a hinged access hatch and aeration ports.
- Hinged hatch
- Aeration ports
- Rolling frame
- 275 gal
B-07
Firewood & bulk store
Cage-only build. Bottle removed and reprocessed; the steel cage becomes a vented bulk container on its original pallet.
- Cage only
- Vented
- Forklift base
- Stackable 2 high
B-08
Grey-water settling tank
Baffled interior with staged draw-off points at three heights for separation duty.
- Internal baffles
- 3 draw-off heights
- Vented lid
- Non-potable
B-09
Nursery irrigation header
Elevated bottle with a multi-outlet manifold for drip-line distribution, plus an inline filter boss.
- Multi-outlet manifold
- Filter boss
- Stand included
- Gravity pressure
B-10
Spill containment bund
Bottle cut to a shallow tray and mounted in a cut cage base, sized to hold a single drum or a 275-gallon unit.
- Shallow tray
- Single-drum or IBC
- Seamless
- Drain optional
B-11
Custom fabrication
Tell us the shape and the fittings. We cut, fit, seal and finish to your drawing in the same bay.
- To your drawing
- Bulkheads to spec
- Any fitting standard
- Prototype friendly
§ 03.7.2Honest limits
What these are not for.
This is the section that matters most on this page. An upcycled build is a brilliant tank and a terrible transport container, and the difference is not cosmetic.
Every bottle in this category failed a pressure and leak test. That failure usually means a slow loss under sustained pressure — the kind of defect that is irrelevant to a static tank at atmospheric pressure and completely disqualifying for a container that will be strapped to a trailer and driven across three states.
Never use an upcycled build for
- Transport of any liquid, on any vehicle, under any circumstances
- Any regulated or hazardous material, even stationary
- Potable water, unless the build is specifically certified and the source bottle was food-only
- Any pressurised or vacuum duty
- Anything that will be sold on as a transport container
Perfect for
- Static storage of rainwater, grey water and irrigation supply
- Agricultural and horticultural water handling
- Aquaponics and aquaculture sump duty
- Livestock watering
- Non-potable washdown and jobsite supply
- Growing media, compost and bulk solids
We mark every build clearly as not for transport, and we will not supply one on a UN/DOT paperwork path. If somebody offers you a cut-down tote with a transport marking on it, walk away.
38lb HDPE
Saved per build
That is the resin that would otherwise have been polymerised, pelletized and moulded to make an equivalent new tank. Multiply by eleven formats and a decade of builds.
Food-safe builds
Aquaponics sumps and any build intended for growing edible produce are fabricated only from bottles whose entire declared fill history was food-contact. These are a separate, smaller pool and carry a longer lead time — tell us at order time rather than after.
- Food-only source pool
- Limited availability, ask early
- Lead time
- 3–5 weeks versus 1–2 for standard
- Documentation
- Source fill history supplied
§ 03.7.3Fabrication
Cut, fitted, sealed, finished.
These are not totes with a hole in them. Every opening is a proper bulkhead fitting with a gasket, every cut edge is dressed, and every build is water-tested before it leaves.
- All openings are bulkhead fittings with gaskets, never drilled holes
- Cut edges dressed and radiused — no sharp HDPE
- Cage sections cut and re-welded where the build needs structure
- Original pallet retained for forklift handling wherever possible
- Every build water-tested at full working level before dispatch
- Clearly marked NOT FOR TRANSPORT on two faces
| Fitting | Sizes | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Bulkhead tank fitting | 1/2" – 3" | Inlet, outlet, return |
| Overflow bulkhead | 2" – 3" | Rain harvesters, sumps |
| Float valve boss | 1/2" – 1" | Livestock waterers |
| Drain plug | 3/4" – 2" | All builds |
| Vented lid | 6" – 12" | Access and aeration |
| Debris screen | Mesh | Rain harvester inlets |
§ 03.7.4Builds, questioned
Before you order one.
Can I use a rain harvester for drinking water?
Not unless you have specified a food-only source bottle and you are treating the water yourself. Harvested rainwater is not potable regardless of the container, and a standard build’s source bottle held an industrial product. Tell us if potability is in scope and we will route it to the food-only pool — but the treatment is still yours.
Will it survive a winter outdoors?
HDPE handles freeze-thaw well, but water does not — drain any build down below the lowest fitting before a hard freeze, or you will split a bulkhead. The cage and pallet are galvanised and weather fine. UV embrittlement over many years is the real long-term limit.
Can you build to my own drawing?
Yes — that is format B-11. Send a sketch with dimensions and the fittings you need. We prototype one, send you photographs, and build the rest once you approve it.
Why is this cheaper than a purpose-made tank?
Because the expensive part — moulding a 275-gallon HDPE vessel — already happened years ago, and the alternative for this bottle was a granulator. You are paying for fabrication labour and fittings, not for a tank.
What happens to a build at the end of its life?
Send it back. It goes into the granulator and becomes recycled HDPE, exactly as the bottle would have in 2019 — just a decade later and after a second useful life. See the circular lifecycle.
Eleven formats, or your own
Describe the shape and the fittings.
Standard builds ship in one to two weeks. Custom fabrication starts with a sketch and a prototype.