The bottle
Granulated to 8–12 mm regrind, washed, dried and sold to moulders making pipe, pallets, drainage and non-food containers.
Service 06 — End of life
Recycling & regrind
Recycling is our second choice, not our first — every tote we grind is a tote we could not save. But when a bottle is cracked or chemically spent, grinding it back to pellet beats every alternative by a wide margin.
- Sheet
- 12
- Revision
- 2026-10
- Scale
- 1:1
- Drawn at
- Peoria IL
97%Of intake diverted
134 lbHDPE recovered per tote
60 lbSteel recovered per cage
0Totes landfilled whole in 2025
A tote is four recyclable things wearing one jacket
The cage
Sheared, baled and sent to regional mills. Galvanised tube is a clean, high-yield scrap stream.
The pallet
Re-decked and reused when sound; chipped for mulch and boiler fuel when not.
Valves & hardware
Sorted by polymer and metal. Brass and stainless fittings go to metal; poly valves join the regrind stream.
| Output | Spec | Typical destination | Volume share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural HDPE regrind | 8–12 mm, <1% moisture | Pipe & profile extrusion | 54% |
| Mixed-colour HDPE regrind | 8–12 mm, colour sorted | Pallets, drainage, crates | 22% |
| Baled galvanised steel | Mill-ready bales | Regional EAF mills | 18% |
| Wood fibre | Chipped | Mulch, boiler fuel | 4% |
| Residual | Sludge, gasket, labels | Licensed processor | 2% |
We work down the ladder, never up
- Reuse as-is — wash, inspect, re-release. Lowest impact, highest priority.
- Rebottle — reuse the cage and pallet, replace the polyethylene.
- Repurpose — convert to a rain harvester, planter, aquaponics bed or storage unit.
- Recycle — granulate the HDPE, bale the steel, recover the pallet.
- Energy recovery — only for residual fibre that cannot be recycled.
- Landfill — the option we have spent fifteen years engineering out of the process.
Need a destruction certificate?
For brand-protected or contaminated containers we grind on a witnessed basis and issue a certificate of destruction with weights and photos.
The reasons a container ends up at the granulator
| Reason | Share | Avoidable? | What would have prevented it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottle crazed or split beyond rebottling value | 29% | Partly | Covered or indoor storage |
| Solvent or fuel absorption | 20% | No | Chemistry decided this at the filler |
| Undocumented history, no resale path | 15% | Entirely | A written last-contents declaration |
| Contaminated residue, not washable | 12% | Partly | On-site rinsing before pickup |
| Structural cage failure plus bottle damage | 10% | No | — |
| Brand-protected destruction requested | 8% | No | The customer required it |
| Cut, drilled or modified previously | 6% | Entirely | Never modify a sound container |
- Regrind specification
- 8–12 mm, under 1% moisture, colour sorted
- Natural HDPE output
- 358 tons in 2025 — pipe and profile extrusion
- Mixed-colour output
- 146 tons — pallets, crates, drainage
- Steel output
- 119 tons of mill-ready bales
- Wood fibre
- 26 tons chipped for mulch and boiler fuel
- Witnessed destruction
- Certificate with weights, photographs and a witness name
What reaches the granulator
Valves and fittings off, bottle out of the cage, cage to the baler and polyethylene to the granulator. Every container in this frame failed grading for product service — and even so, the only thing leaving the site as waste is gasket rubber, label adhesive and filter media.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to a tote you cannot reuse?
The HDPE bottle is granulated into 8 to 12 mm regrind, the steel cage is sheared and baled for regional mills, and the pallet is reused if sound or chipped if not. Hardware is sorted by polymer and metal.
Do you recycle first or try to reuse the tote?
Reuse comes first. We work down a ladder: reuse as is, rebottle, repurpose, then recycle. Recycling is our second choice, used when a bottle is cracked or chemically spent.
Can I get a certificate that my totes were destroyed?
Yes. For brand-protected or contaminated containers we grind on a witnessed basis and issue a certificate of destruction with weights and photos. Request it through the form when you book.
Who buys the recycled plastic?
Natural HDPE regrind goes mostly to pipe and profile extrusion. Mixed-colour regrind goes to makers of pallets, drainage and crates. It is sold to moulders for non-food products.
Why do some totes end up at the granulator?
Common reasons are crazed or split bottles, solvent or fuel absorption, and no documented history. A written last-contents declaration and covered storage would have prevented many of them.