We will not landfill a whole container
Not one. If the bottle is finished, the cage is not. If the cage is finished, the steel is not. There is always a step above the hole in the ground, and taking it is the entire job.
Our story / manifesto
Nine things we refuse to do
Commitments written as refusals, because a refusal is the only kind of commitment that costs you something.
- Sheet
- 81
- Revision
- 2026-10
- Scale
- 1:1
- Drawn at
- Peoria IL
We will not sell a grade we cannot inspect
A grade is a promise about the next five years. If we cannot show you the eighteen checks behind it, the letter is marketing and we will not print it.
We will not call a tote food grade without the paperwork
Not because it looks clean. Not because it probably is. Food grade means a documented history, a validated cycle and a certificate with a name on it.
We will not wash what should not be washed
Some residues belong with a licensed processor, not in our bay. Turning down that work costs us money and keeps our water honest.
We will not count reuse we did not do
Our diversion rate counts containers that actually left the yard reused, rebuilt, repurposed or recycled. Totes sitting in inventory count as nothing.
We will not hide a bad year
2017 was 91%, and the reason is written down. A sustainability number you only publish when it flatters you is not a number, it is an advertisement.
We will not cut a UN-marked container and pretend the rating survives
Cutting voids it. Grinding the plate off ends it. We say so plainly even when the customer would rather we did not.
We will not use fresh water where recovered water works
Only the final rinse gets potable water. Everything else runs on the loop, which is why we use about four gallons of fresh water per container instead of sixty.
We will not build a phone tree
No hold music, no extensions, no 'your call is important to us'. Everything in writing, answered by the people who do the work, usually the same day.
What each refusal costs us, and how to check it
A commitment with no cost attached is a slogan. Each of the nine has a price, and each one can be audited — here is both.
| # | The refusal | What it costs us | How to check it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | No whole container landfilled | Granulating and baling instead of skipping | Granulator weights, mill bale tickets |
| 02 | No grade we cannot inspect | 2–4 minutes of grading per container | Intake photographs against the grade call |
| 03 | No food-grade claim without paperwork | Lost sales to looser sellers | Cycle logs and lab results by wash lot |
| 04 | No washing what should not be washed | About 7% of inbound enquiries refused | The published refusal list and quarantine records |
| 05 | No counting reuse we did not do | A diversion figure lower than competitors' | Diversion worksheet for any quarter |
| 06 | No hiding a bad year | A permanent 91% in the archive | The 2017 report, still unedited |
| 07 | No pretending a cut container keeps its rating | Arguments with customers who wanted otherwise | Serial records on modified units |
| 08 | No fresh water where recovered works | A capital project nobody asked for | Metered make-up versus cycle volumes |
| 09 | No phone tree | Customers who would rather call | This page, and the absence of a number anywhere |
- Four customers have audited some version of this list on site: two chemical blenders, a food manufacturer and a municipal purchasing department.
- Two of them changed their own specifications afterwards, which is the most useful outcome an audit has ever produced here.
- Anything we cannot evidence, we say so in writing rather than explaining it verbally.
- The refusal list is enforced by people who are not paid on volume. That is the structural reason it works.
Nine things we will always do
- Publish the grading standard in full, including the staining scale our own disputes forced us to write.
- Photograph every container at intake and keep the images against the serial for seven years.
- Tell you when new containers are the right answer, even though reconditioned ones are what we sell.
- Replace or refund anything that arrives below the grade we sold, without asking you for an inspection report.
- Name the right handler when a load is not ours — acute hazardous residue, restricted-use pesticide containers, TSCA material.
- Answer in writing, usually the same business day, from the person who will handle your containers.
- Send a diversion statement with every load, whether or not anybody asked for one.
- Host an audit on any weekday morning, with the records out on a table.
- Keep the bad years on the shelf.
Hold us to any of the eighteen
Nine refusals and nine commitments, all auditable. Ask for the audit packet with the period you want to examine.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the manifesto actually commit the yard to?
It lists nine refusals, such as no landfilling a whole container, no grade the yard cannot inspect and no food grade claim without paperwork. It also lists nine things the yard will always do, all of them auditable.
Can customers really audit these commitments?
Yes. The page says four customers have audited some version of the list on site, and the yard hosts an audit on any weekday morning with records out on a table. You can request the audit packet through the form.
Why does the yard turn down some washing jobs?
Some residues belong with a licensed processor, not in the wash bay. The page says about 7 percent of inbound enquiries are refused, and it names acute hazardous residue, restricted-use pesticide containers and TSCA material as loads for another handler.
What happens if a tote arrives below the grade I bought?
One of the nine commitments says the yard will replace or refund anything that arrives below the grade sold, without asking you for an inspection report. Contact the yard through the form if that happens.
Does cutting a tote affect its UN rating?
Yes. The manifesto states plainly that cutting a UN-marked container voids the rating, and grinding the plate off ends it. The yard says so even when the customer would rather it did not.
Hold us to it
Each of these is auditable, and several customers have audited them. The circular standard turns them into dated commitments with numbers attached.