There is no official IBC grading standard
This is the first thing to understand, and it is the thing most buyers get wrong. UN and DOT rules govern whether a container may carry regulated liquid. FDA rules govern the resin. Nothing governs the words "Grade A" printed on an invoice for a second-hand tank.
What that means practically: two suppliers can both sell you a "Grade A 275 gallon tote" and deliver visibly different containers at a $60 price gap, and neither of them is lying. The grade is a promise about process, and the process is whatever that yard does.
The one question that sorts suppliers
Our grading rubric, in full
Every container is graded on the covered deck under lights, with UV lamps and a borescope, before it goes anywhere near a wash bay. The grade is photographed and recorded against a unit number, and it does not move because a pallet ran out.
| Grade | Interior | Odour | Cage & pallet | Prior contents | 275 gal price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A — food-safe | Food-line washed, no residue | None | Straight, no weld repair | Single food-contact product, traceable | $165 – $235 |
| A — washed industrial | Triple-rinse washed, clear | Faint possible | Straight, cosmetic scuffs | Named non-hazardous product | $145 – $195 |
| B — rinsed | Rinsed, visible staining | Residual likely | Minor dents, possible weld repair | Named, non-hazardous | $115 – $155 |
| C — as-is | Not cleaned | Present | Cosmetic damage, functional | Named, non-hazardous | $85 – $120 |
| Rebottled | New bottle, never filled | None | Reclaimed, inspected | Not applicable | $195 – $260 |
| Scrap | Failed testing | — | Any | Any or unknown | Recycled, not sold |
What a grader is actually looking at
Stress-crazing at the corners
Fine white networks in the HDPE where the bottle has flexed under load. This is the failure mode that ends a container’s life, and it appears at the shoulders and lower corners first. A borescope and a strong light find it; a walk-past does not.
Wall thinning and deformation
Bulging at the base from prolonged storage of a dense liquid, or a dent from a vacuum pulled through an unvented lid. Both reduce usable volume and both indicate the container has been worked hard.
Odour and residue
Lid off, nose in. Persistent odour after washing means the prior product penetrated the resin, which HDPE does allow with certain solvents and aromatics. Any detectable odour downgrades a unit to industrial regardless of what it held.
Cage weld integrity
Every bottom-rail joint, checked by hand and eye. A failed weld at the base is not repairable to a standard we would sell, and it is the most common reason a cage is scrapped.
Base-ring corrosion
The bottom ring sits in whatever the pallet collects and corrodes from the inside out. Cut it out and replace it, or reject the cage.
Pallet condition
Soft spots, cracked decks, rot on the increasingly rare wooden bases. A good bottle on a failing pallet is a dropped container.
Which grade should you actually buy?
Almost everybody over-specifies. The honest advice is to buy the lowest grade that meets your requirement, and to spend the saving on quantity or on a spill pallet.
- Food, beverage, cosmetics or potable water: Grade A food-safe, or rebottled if you want the prior-contents question removed entirely.
- Chemical blending, industrial process, wastewater dosing: Grade A washed industrial. Send us the safety data sheet first for compatibility.
- Agriculture, irrigation, liquid fertiliser: Grade B is almost always sufficient and saves 25%.
- Construction water, dust suppression, ballast: Grade C. These containers live outdoors and get damaged; buy cheap and buy spares.
- Rain capture: Grade B with a liner, or Grade A food-safe if you plan to use the water on edible crops.
- Upcycling into planters or furniture: Grade C, provided the prior contents are known and benign.
When a C is the smart buy
Five red flags when buying used
- "We do not know what was in it." Walk away. Unknown prior contents is not a discount, it is an unbounded liability, and it is the reason we refuse roughly 6% of offered stock.
- "Food grade" with no wash certificate and no prior-contents record. The resin is food-grade from manufacture; the container is only food-grade if someone documented the history and the wash.
- A price well below the market for the stated grade. Grade A stock has a floor set by labour and water. A $95 "Grade A" is a Grade B with better marketing.
- No photographs of the actual units. Any yard can photograph a pallet. If they will not, ask yourself why.
- Reluctance to let you visit. We host walk-throughs most Wednesdays. A supplier who will not show you the containers on the ground is a supplier who does not want you to see them.
Frequently asked
Is Grade A the same everywhere?
No, and this is the central point of the article. Grade definitions are set by each reconditioner. Ours are published above and recorded against unit numbers. Before buying from anyone, ask for their written definitions and compare — the gap between two yards’ Grade A can be larger than the gap between our A and our B.
Can a Grade B tote be upgraded?
Often, yes. A B that is staining and odour rather than structural damage frequently comes out as an A after a proper caustic wash. That is exactly what toll washing is for, and at $38 a unit it is usually cheaper than the price difference between the grades.
What does "food grade" mean if there is no certification?
It means the container held a single traceable food-contact product and was cleaned on a dedicated line, and that the supplier will give you both records in writing. Nobody issues a transferable food-grade certificate for a used tote, and anyone implying otherwise is overstating what exists.
Do grades affect UN certification?
They are separate systems. UN certification concerns the container’s design type and its periodic test record; grade concerns cleanliness and cosmetic condition. A Grade C container can carry a current UN inspection record, and a spotless Grade A can be unrated. Check both if both matter to you.
Written by the yard team at IBC Totes San Francisco. Last reviewed March 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us — we would rather fix it than defend it.