Learn · Reference
Forty-eight terms, defined the way we use them.
Container vocabulary is full of words that mean one thing in a catalogue and something more specific on a yard floor. These are the yard-floor definitions.
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From the yard
A–Z
The glossary
- Backhaul
- Loading a truck for the return leg of a delivery run, usually with collected empties. About 71% of our outbound flatbed miles come back loaded.
- Base ring
- The bottom steel ring of an IBC cage. It sits in whatever the pallet collects and corrodes from the inside out — the single most common reason a cage is rejected.
- Bonding and grounding
- Electrically connecting a container and receiving vessel to each other and to earth so static cannot accumulate during transfer. Essential for flammable liquid and not achievable with a plain composite IBC.
- Borescope
- A small camera on a flexible probe used to inspect a bottle interior through the lid opening, principally for stress-crazing at the shoulders.
- Bottle
- The blow-moulded HDPE inner receptacle of a composite IBC. Roughly 55 lb on a 275 gallon unit.
- Brim capacity
- The volume a container holds filled to the very top, as distinct from nominal capacity. A 275 gallon tote brims at about 288 gallons.
- Bunding
- Secondary containment — a sump or bunded platform sized to hold the contents of the largest container plus freeboard, in case the primary container fails.
- Buttress thread
- The coarse asymmetric thread used on IBC outlets and lids. S60x6 is the standard 60 mm outlet thread; it is not NPT and not a garden hose thread.
- Cage
- The welded galvanised steel frame surrounding the bottle. Carries the stacking load and protects the bottle. About 62–78 lb depending on size.
- Camlock
- A quick-connect coupling using cam levers. Type F is the common male adapter fitted to IBC outlets for pump and hose connections.
- Caustic circuit
- The heated sodium hydroxide solution loop used in a professional wash bay to saponify fats and lift cured residue. Ours runs at 160 °F and is recovered through a three-stage separator.
- Closed loop
- A wash system in which spent solution is cleaned and returned rather than discharged. Ours recovers 94% of circuit water, cutting fresh-water use to roughly seven gallons per container.
- Composite IBC
- The standard caged tote: a rigid plastic inner receptacle inside a rigid outer casing. Designated HA in UN marking.
- Coalescing plate pack
- A separator stage that encourages small oil droplets to merge and rise for skimming. The reason oil-history containers are economic to wash.
- Design type
- The certified configuration a UN-rated container was tested as. Moving a bottle into a different cage breaks the design-type chain and voids the rating.
- Diversion rate
- The share of inbound mass that leaves as product or recovered feedstock rather than as landfill waste. Ours is 98.6%.
- EPDM
- Ethylene propylene diene monomer — the standard gasket rubber for IBC outlets. Good with water, acids, alkalis and steam; poor with oils and hydrocarbons, where nitrile or Viton is used instead.
- Fill height
- The depth of liquid in a full container, as distinct from overall height. About 38 inches in a 275 gallon tote against 46 inches overall.
- First flush
- The initial runoff from a roof at the start of a storm, carrying accumulated dust and debris. A first-flush diverter dumps it before the clean water reaches a rainwater tank.
- Four-way entry
- A pallet base that a forklift can enter from any of four sides. Standard on composite, plastic and steel IBC bases, though pocket widths vary between makers.
- Freeboard
- The margin above the required containment volume in a bund, allowing for rainfall and for the displaced volume of the container itself.
- Granulation
- Shredding and grinding HDPE into regrind for re-moulding. Our plant runs at 1,100 lb per hour and is the last step before a container leaves the loop.
- Grade
- A supplier-defined condition rating for a used container. There is no industry standard; ask any yard for their written definitions.
- Gross mass
- The total weight of container plus contents. Marked in kilograms on the UN plate as the maximum permitted figure.
- HDPE
- High-density polyethylene, the resin used for IBC bottles. FDA-compliant for food contact from manufacture, resistant to most water-based chemistry, attacked by strong oxidisers and swelled by many solvents.
- Head pressure
- The static pressure at the outlet produced by the column of liquid above it. About 1.37 psi for a full 275 gallon tote; each foot of elevation adds 0.43 psi.
- IBC
- Intermediate bulk container — anything between a drum and a fixed tank, typically 120 to 793 gallons. The caged composite version is what most people mean by "tote".
- Leak test
- Pressurising a sealed container, typically to 3 psi, and monitoring for decay. Required at least every 2.5 years for regulated liquid service.
- Liftgate
- A hydraulic platform on the back of a truck for lowering freight to ground level where no forklift is available. Handles up to four totes at a time.
- Load centre
- The horizontal distance from the fork face to the load’s centre of gravity. Forklift capacity plates assume 24 inches; a 48-inch-deep tote pushes it further out and reduces effective capacity.
- Manifold
- Plumbing several containers to a single draw point so they behave as one tank while sharing a level.
- Nominal capacity
- The stated working volume of a container — 275, 330, 550 gallons — as opposed to its brim capacity.
- Packing group
- The hazard tier a container is rated for. X covers groups I, II and III; Y covers II and III; Z covers III only.
- Periodic inspection
- The full five-yearly examination required for composite IBCs in regulated liquid service under 49 CFR 178.813.
- Prior-contents record
- Written documentation of what a used container previously held, and where possible the shipper. The single most important document when buying used.
- Rebottling
- Fitting a new virgin HDPE bottle into a reclaimed, inspected cage and pallet. Avoids roughly 78 lb of virgin steel per container.
- Reconditioning
- Washing, inspecting, re-gasketing and leak-testing an existing container without replacing the bottle. Avoids roughly 133 lb of virgin material per container.
- Regrind
- Granulated post-use HDPE sold as feedstock. Ours goes to moulders making drainage pipe, wheel chocks and pallets.
- S60x6
- The 60 mm coarse buttress thread standard on IBC outlets. Adapters convert it to garden hose, camlock, NPT or barb.
- Saponification
- The chemical conversion of fats and oils into soap by hot alkali. Why a caustic circuit removes oil residue that pressure washing merely relocates.
- Specific gravity
- A liquid’s density relative to water. Multiply by 8.34 lb per gallon to get the real weight of your contents — the figure most often skipped before a lift goes wrong.
- Stacking load
- The maximum superimposed weight a container may carry when stacked, marked in kilograms on the UN plate.
- Stress-crazing
- Fine white networks of micro-cracks in HDPE caused by repeated flexing under load. The failure mode that ends a bottle’s working life, usually after six to eight cycles.
- Tare weight
- The empty weight of the container. About 125 lb for a 275 gallon composite IBC.
- Toll service
- Processing containers you own and returning them to you, as distinct from selling you stock. Applies to our washing, reconditioning and inspection services.
- Triple rinse
- Three complete fill-and-drain cycles with fresh solution each time, so residual concentration falls geometrically rather than being redistributed.
- UN plate
- The marked plate on a certified container recording design type, packing group, dates, manufacturer and load limits. Illegible plate, no certification.
- Vented lid
- A lid with a breather that prevents a vacuum forming when liquid is drawn from a sealed container. Sixteen dollars; prevents a permanent collapse.
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