§ 05.5Size Guide / Grading Scale

Our grading scale,
published so you
can hold us to it.

Most reconditioners use grade letters without defining them, which makes the letters worthless — a supplier's grade A can mean whatever that week's stock happens to look like. Here is our complete scale with the exact condition criteria for each grade. If a unit arrives not matching its grade, this page is the document to quote at us.

Grades: 7
Graded: Individually, every unit
Checks: Intake and staging
Mis-grade rate: 0.4% FY2025

Close-up of an IBC tote cage, bottle and data plate during grading

Form 01 / Reclaim request

Not sure which grade?

Leave the Grade field blank. Describe the duty and a grader will recommend one.

First Name

Last Name

A real, permanent address — we reply here.

Phone

US or Canada · (XXX) XXX-XXXX

Company

City

State / Province

US state or Canadian province

Postal Code

ZIP 60426 · or Canadian M5V 2T6

Quantity

Whole units · 48 fills a trailer

Product Type

Select Service

Grade

Leave blank and we'll advise

Message

Required. We use your details only to price and schedule your request — never resold, never shared.

§ 05.5.1At a glance

Seven grades, from food-contact to feedstock.

Grade summary

Grade	Name	Bottle	Tested	Washed	UN recert	Typical duty
AA	Food grade	Unused / food-only	Yes	High-temp sanitising	Yes	Food, beverage, flavour
A	Rebottled	New	Yes	N/A — new bottle	Yes	Sensitive or visible duty
A-	Washed & tested	Original	Yes	Matched programme	Yes	Product-facing industrial
B	Triple rinsed	Original	Yes	Triple rinse min.	Usually	General industrial
B-	Rinsed, cosmetic wear	Original	Yes	Rinsed	Case by case	Water, brine, washdown
C	As-is, unwashed	Original	No	No	No	Non-product use only
R	Reprocess only	Failed	Failed	No	Marking removed	Feedstock / upcycled build

Grades AA, A, A-, B and B- are all pressure and leak tested with a hold phase, with no statistical sampling. C is explicitly untested. R has failed.

100%
Units graded individually: 2
Independent grade checks: 0.4%
Mis-grade rate FY2025: 93.9%
Intake grading AA to B-

§ 05.5.2Full definitions

Every criterion, for every grade.

A grade is awarded only when every criterion listed under it is satisfied. Failing any single criterion moves the unit down.

Food grade

Unused or food-only bottle on a fully segregated path, with complete documentation.

All criteria must be met

Bottle unused, or every declared fill in its history was food-contact
Handled exclusively on the segregated food-grade path — never shared wash water or racking
High-temperature sanitising wash cycle completed and recorded
Pressure and leak tested with hold phase, passed
New valve, gasket and fill cap — no reclaimed fittings
No odour, staining or residue after the sanitising cycle
Full documentation pack: resin reference, fill history, wash record, segregation attestation

Typical dutyFood, beverage, flavour, nutraceutical and any product where trace contamination matters.

Rebottled

Brand-new bottle fitted into a reclaimed, jig-checked and straightened steel cage and pallet.

All criteria must be met

Bottle new, virgin HDPE, never filled
Cage passed geometry jig in all three axes; straightened where needed
All welds inspected, no fatigue cracking
Pallet sound or replaced
New valve, gasket and fill cap
Full UN/DOT 31HA1 marking applied and recorded
Pressure and leak tested, passed

Typical dutyPermeation-sensitive products, retail-adjacent or customer-visible duty, regulated fills needing clean bottle history.

A-

Washed & tested

Original bottle, wash programme matched to residue, pressure tested, light cosmetic wear only.

All criteria must be met

Original bottle, declared fill history available
Wash programme selected to match residue class and recorded on the unit
Pressure and leak tested with hold phase, passed
No permeation staining visible after wash
Cage straight, galvanising intact, no weld cracking
Light cosmetic scuffing permitted on cage; bottle visually clean
Valve and gasket new or verified sound
UN/DOT recertification available

Typical dutyGeneral product-facing industrial fills where appearance matters but a new bottle is not required.

Triple rinsed

Washed, tested, structurally sound, with visible cosmetic wear on cage and bottle.

All criteria must be met

Original bottle, declared fill history available
Triple rinse minimum; heavier programme where residue required it
Pressure and leak tested with hold phase, passed
Light to moderate permeation staining permitted
Cage may show scratching, scuffing and minor galvanising loss
Cage geometry within jig tolerance — no deformation preventing stacking
Valve and gasket sound; replaced where chemically attacked
UN/DOT recertification usually available

Typical dutyGeneral industrial, non-critical fills. The volume grade and the best value in the catalog.

B-

Rinsed, cosmetic wear

Tested and structurally sound, with significant staining or scuffing. Function over appearance.

All criteria must be met

Original bottle, fill history available where supplied
Rinsed to the appropriate programme
Pressure and leak tested with hold phase, passed
Permanent staining permitted, including heavy pigment or dye staining
Cage scratching, galvanising loss and cosmetic deformation permitted
Geometry still within jig tolerance for safe handling and stacking
Valve and gasket functional
UN/DOT recertification case by case

Typical dutyWater, brine, washdown, de-icing, concrete admixtures — anything where cosmetics are irrelevant.

As-is, unwashed

Sold untested and unwashed, exactly as received. Not for product service.

All criteria must be met

No wash performed
No pressure or leak test performed
Residue may remain — declared to the buyer as received
Structural condition described but not certified
No UN/DOT recertification
Sold explicitly as-is with no representation of integrity

Typical dutyNon-liquid use, storage of non-critical solids, buyer's own reconditioning, or feedstock.

Reprocess only

Failed test or beyond economic repair. Material feedstock, not a container.

All criteria must be met

Failed pressure or leak test, or
Stress crazing across a weld seam or valve boss, or
Heat distortion compromising geometry, or
Cage fatigue cracking beyond repair
Not sold as a container under any circumstances
UN marking removed or obliterated before disposition

Typical dutyGranulation and hot wash into recycled HDPE, or diversion to an upcycled build if watertight at atmospheric pressure.

§ 05.5.3How grading actually works

One technician, one tote, one jig.

Grading is the only genuinely skilled judgement in this building and it cannot be automated. A technician takes one unit at a time and works through a fixed sequence: bottle walls under light for stress crazing, cage into the geometry jig, pallet feet and deck, valve threads, cap seat, gasket condition, and finally the residue evidence against the declared fill history.

The sequence is fixed because order matters — you check the cheap disqualifiers before spending time on the expensive assessments. A unit with a cracked weld does not need its residue profiled.

Every wholesale load is then re-checked at staging by a different personagainst the ordered grade. That second pair of eyes is where mis-grades get caught, and it is why our mis-grade rate is 0.4% rather than the several percent that is normal in this industry.

Grading time per unit: 3–6 minutes
Checks per unit: 11 fixed assessment points
Second check: Different technician, at staging
Dispute remedy: Replacement or credit, your choice

What moves a unit down a grade

Permeation staining that survives the appropriate wash
Cage galvanising loss exposing bare steel
Any cage deformation, even within tolerance
A fill history with gaps or unverifiable entries
Chemically attacked valve or gasket not replaced
Cracked pallet foot not replaced
Odour persisting after the wash cycle

§ 05.5.4Grading questions

Using the scale.

Which grade should I order?

Leave the Grade field blank and describe the duty instead. Nine times out of ten the answer is B — it is tested, washed, structurally sound and considerably cheaper than A-. The exceptions are permeation-sensitive products (A or AA) and anything customer-visible (A- or A).

What if a unit arrives below its graded condition?

Tell us, with a photograph. We replace it or credit it, your choice, and the unit goes back through grading as a training case. A mis-grade is our failure, not a negotiation. Terms on the terms of sale page.

Can I order a mix of grades?

Yes, and most volume customers do — grade A- for product fills and grade B- for washdown water on the same trailer. The manifest shows which units are which.

Why is grade A rebottled rather than 'nearly new'?

Because it is more honest. Grade A has a genuinely new bottle, so it behaves like new where it counts — the inside. Calling it “nearly new” would imply the cage is new too, and it is not. See rebottled totes.

Do you ever sell grade C?

Occasionally, to buyers who have their own wash and test capability, and always explicitly as-is with no representation of integrity. We will not sell grade C to someone who intends to put product in it.

Is your scale the same as other suppliers'?

No, and nobody’s is. There is no industry-standard IBC grading scale, which is exactly why published criteria matter. When comparing quotes, compare the criteria rather than the letters.

Describe the duty, not the grade

We'd rather recommend a grade than have you guess one.

Tell us what's going in the tote and who sees it. The recommendation is free and it's usually the cheaper grade.

Get a recommendation

Our grading scale,published so youcan hold us to it.

Not sure which grade?

We'd rather recommend a grade than have you guess one.

Our grading scale,
published so you
can hold us to it.