Food & beverage
Maple syrup producers, cider makers, vintners, juice concentrators, honey packers, sauce manufacturers, dairy intermediaries. Food grade only. Plastic pallets are often preferred.
- Typical choice: food-grade (Grade A) or new totes.
- Gotcha: auditors may require sealed virgin packaging for first-fill of regulated brands — talk to your QA before ordering used.
- Tip: dedicating a tote to a single product and storing it covered and sealed between uses makes cleaning and traceability easier.
Agriculture
Liquid fertilizer mix (UAN, urea), foliar feeds, irrigation supplementation, livestock water hauling, sap collection (maple), spray rig fill, broiler-house water lines.
- Typical choice: washed (Grade B) or rinsed (Grade C) totes.
- Gotcha: some pesticide labels restrict how containers can be reused or disposed of — follow the product label before refilling or reselling a tote.
- Tip: mounted on a wagon, a 275-gal tote becomes a portable fill station for sprayers.
Brewing & distilling
Glycol storage, brite-tank pre-rinse, ferment vessels (Grade A), wash trim, spent grain handling.
- Typical choice: food-grade totes for anything that touches product.
- Gotcha: ferment vessels need vented manways — partner suppliers can often fit one.
Chemical formulation
Soap base, surfactant blending, lubricant storage, paint base, ink bases, cleaning chemistries.
- Typical choice: washed totes with a known, compatible previous content.
- Gotcha: stress-cracking risk on surfactant chemistries — rotate stock.
- Tip: a supplier in our network can often fit bulkhead fittings for dosing pumps.
Municipal & public works
De-icing brine storage, road dust suppressant, mosquito control (larvicide), stormwater catchment, hydroseeding fluid, park irrigation.
- Typical use: seasonal storage, often outdoors.
- Gotcha: HDPE handles salt brine well, but brine corrodes the steel cage and any steel pallet — rinse off spills and inspect cages regularly.
- Tip: insulated covers or heating blankets made for IBCs can keep contents above freezing in a Northeast Ohio winter.
Construction & concrete
Concrete admixture (plasticizers, set retarders, accelerators), curing compounds, sealants, anti-spalling treatments.
- Typical use: per-project storage on site.
- Gotcha: spilled admixtures and curing compounds can attack steel and wood pallets over time — plastic pallets hold up better.
Education & makers
School gardens, university aquaponics labs, art-class build projects, community gardens, makerspaces.
- Typical use: small quantities, often repurposed as planters or aquaponics tanks.
- Tip: uncut totes and pre-cut planters can both be sourced through partner suppliers.
Cannabis (where legal)
Nutrient solution storage, runoff capture, irrigation reservoirs, post-harvest wash.
- Typical choice: food-grade or new totes.
- Gotcha: state-regulated. Some states require sealed virgin packaging at certain points in the supply chain — verify locally.
Disaster relief & off-grid
Bulk water storage, off-grid rain catchment, livestock water haulage during drought, emergency potable storage.