§ 04.3Services / Washing & Reconditioning
Your totes.
Our wash line.
Back to you.
Toll reconditioning: your assets stay your assets. They come to Harvey, run the wash programme their residue demands, get pressure tested, recertified where they qualify, and go back out on a scheduled return load with the paperwork to prove what happened to them.
- Ownership
- Stays with you
- Turnaround
- 2–4 weeks
- Testing
- 100% pressure tested
- Recert
- UN/DOT 31HA1
§ 04.3.1Who this is for
Three situations where toll reconditioning beats buying.
Buying reconditioned stock from us is usually simpler. These are the cases where it is not.
You have a managed fleet
Your totes are tagged, tracked and on your asset register. Swapping them for equivalent units from our stock creates an asset reconciliation problem that costs more than the wash.
Your units are non-standard
Unusual capacities, specific valve configurations, stainless bodies or customer-branded cages. There is no equivalent in our reclaimed population to swap you into.
You need a documented chain on your own units
Regulated fills where the container history must be continuous and attributable to specific serials. A swap breaks the chain; a toll wash preserves it.
100%
Of returned units pressure tested
Including units that arrived looking perfect. A toll wash without a test is just a clean tote with an unknown integrity status.
| Step | Included | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Residue capture and profiling | Yes | Compatibility-segregated, licensed outbound |
| Wash programme to residue class | Yes | Triple rinse, caustic, solvent or high-temp |
| Pressure and leak test | Yes | 100% of units, with hold phase |
| Cage geometry check | Yes | Against jig, in three axes |
| Cage straightening | Yes | Where within tolerance to recover |
| New valve and gasket | On request | Quoted per unit |
| New fill cap and seal | On request | Quoted per unit |
| Pallet replacement | On request | Plastic, steel or composite |
| UN/DOT recertification | On request | Where the unit qualifies |
| Per-unit documentation | Yes | Wash code, test date, grade, serial |
| Return freight | Quoted | Scheduled load, often on an existing lane |
§ 04.3.2The run
What happens between your dock and your dock.
- 01
Declaration and programme selection
You tell us the previous contents per unit or per lot. We select the wash programme — triple rinse, caustic, solvent or high-temperature — and quote per unit against it.
Programme chosen before collection, not after
- 02
Collection
Scheduled on a lane where possible. Units are counted and serial-recorded at your site so the asset register reconciles from the start.
Serials recorded at your dock
- 03
Intake and individual assessment
Each unit is inspected and its condition recorded against its serial. Units that will not survive the wash or the test are flagged to you before anything irreversible happens.
You approve any write-off decision
- 04
Wash and test
The selected programme runs, the unit is pressure tested with a hold phase, and the result is logged against its serial.
11–26 minutes per unit on the line
- 05
Repair, refit and recertify
Cage straightening, new valves, gaskets and caps as quoted, then UN/DOT recertification where the unit qualifies.
Per-unit, per your instruction
- 06
Return and reconciliation
Units return on a scheduled load with a serial-level report: wash programme, test result, repairs performed and recertification status for every single unit.
Serial-level report, every unit
What happens to units that fail
Some units will not pass. This is the part of a toll arrangement that needs agreeing upfront, and we offer three options — chosen by you, per run:
- Return as-is, clearly marked as failed, for your own disposition
- We buy the failed units at the applicable rate and credit the run
- We rebottle them — your cage, a new bottle — quoted per unit
Option three is usually the best value, because your cage is the expensive component and it almost always survives.
- Typical turnaround
- 2–4 weeks door to door
- Minimum run
- 24 units
- Typical failure rate
- 4–9% depending on fleet age
- Serial-level reporting
- Standard, every run
- Food-grade runs
- On the segregated circuit, longer lead time
- Stainless runs
- Accepted — steam cleaning available
§ 04.3.3Wash programmes
The programme is chosen by the residue, not by the price list.
Running a triple rinse on a latex residue produces a clean-looking tote that still contaminates the next fill. We pick the programme the residue requires and quote accordingly.
| Programme | Residue classes | Cycle | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Triple rinse | Water-miscible, non-hazardous | 11 min | Ambient |
| Caustic wash | Oils, surfactants, latex, food | 18 min | 150 °F |
| Solvent wash | Resins, coatings, inks, adhesives | 24 min | 120 °F |
| High temperature | Food-contact prep, sanitising | 26 min | 185 °F |
| Quarantine strip | Unknown or mixed declaration | 26 min + hold | 185 °F |
Full programme detail, including exit grades, is on the how we work page.
§ 04.3.4Toll reconditioning, questioned
Agreeing the terms.
Will I get my exact units back?
Yes. Serials are recorded at collection and reported at return. That is the entire point of a toll arrangement — if you are happy with equivalent units instead, buying from stock is faster and cheaper.
What does recertification actually cover?
Suitability for transport within the design type, not suitability for your product. The scope is spelled out precisely on the certifications page, including the things it deliberately does not cover.
Can you wash totes that held something you don't normally accept?
Our exclusion list applies to toll work exactly as it does to purchases. Declare the residue and we will tell you before collection whether we can handle it.
How is it priced?
Per unit, by wash programme, with optional items quoted separately — valve, gasket, cap, pallet, recertification. Freight both ways is quoted on the lane. You get one per-unit number before anything moves.
Can you do this on a recurring schedule?
Yes, and most toll customers do. At that point it is effectively a managed pool, which is worth comparing against our tote asset programs.
Keep your own assets
A fleet that comes back washed, tested and documented.
Tell us the count, the capacities and the previous contents, and we'll quote the programme per unit.