Knowledge · unlisted
IBC
glossary.
Short answer
Term not here?
A
- As-is
- Sold in the condition received, with prior contents disclosed but no wash or test performed.
B
- Bottle
- The blow-moulded HDPE inner receptacle of a composite IBC. The part that wears out first.
- Buttress thread
- The coarse, asymmetric thread form used on IBC outlets (S60×6, S100×8). Not interchangeable with NPT.
C
- Cage
- The welded tubular steel exoskeleton. Usually galvanised, usually reusable far longer than the bottle.
- Camlock
- Cam-and-groove quick-connect coupling. Types A, B, C, D, E and F describe male/female and hose/thread ends.
- CIP
- Clean-in-place. Washing a vessel without disassembly, standard in food and beverage plants.
- Composite IBC
- A plastic inner receptacle inside a rigid outer cage. UN category 31H for liquids. The common "tote".
- Crazing
- Fine surface cracking in HDPE, usually from UV or chemical stress. A rebottle candidate, not a wash candidate.
D
- Diversion certificate
- A document stating the unit count and tonnage kept out of landfill, with methodology attached.
- DN50 / DN80
- Nominal diameter in millimetres for the discharge valve — 2 inch and 3 inch respectively.
F
- Food grade
- Bottle resin compliant with FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 and a documented food-contact-only history.
G
- GMA pallet
- The 48 × 40 inch Grocery Manufacturers Association footprint that IBC bases are built to match.
- Granulate
- To shred spent HDPE into regrind flake for re-extrusion.
- Gross weight
- Tare plus payload. A filled 275-gallon water tote is about 2,440 lb.
H
- Hydrostatic test
- Pressure test of the inner receptacle, required at initial certification and at the 5-year periodic.
I
- IBC
- Intermediate bulk container. Bigger than a drum, smaller than a tank.
- ISPM-15
- International standard requiring heat treatment or fumigation of wood packaging for export.
L
- Leakproofness test
- Air-pressure test, typically 3 psi, required at the 2.5-year periodic for hazmat service.
P
- Packing group
- Hazard severity tier: I high, II medium, III low. Determines which UN marking you need.
- Permeation
- Absorption of product into the HDPE wall. Why some solvent and fragrance totes can never be regraded.
R
- Rebottle
- Replace the inner bottle with a new one, keeping the cage and pallet in service.
- Recondition
- Wash, test and repair a used tote so it returns to service with its original bottle.
- Regrind
- Granulated post-use HDPE sold by colour and melt index for re-extrusion.
T
- Tare
- Empty weight of the complete assembly: bottle, cage, pallet, valve and lid.
- Toll washing
- Washing containers the customer owns, then returning them. No change of title.
- Tote pooling
- A managed shared fleet billed per turn rather than per container purchased.
- Triple rinse
- Three successive flushes with fresh water, each using at least 10% of container volume.
U
- UN31HA1
- The most common IBC marking: composite, plastic inner, steel outer with structural equipment.
Y
- Y-rating
- UN marking authorising packing groups II and III. X covers all three, Z covers III only.
Four worth learning properly
These four come up in almost every conversation
Composite IBC
A plastic inner receptacle inside a rigid outer cage — UN category 31H for liquids. This is what everybody means by "a tote". Understanding that it is two separate components with two separate lifespans explains rebottling, grading and most of our pricing.
Read more →UN31HA1
The standard marking: composite IBC, plastic inner, steel outer with structural equipment. If you ship regulated liquid, the string that follows it — packing group, test pressure, year, maker code — is the legal basis of the shipment.
Read more →Permeation
Absorption of product into the HDPE wall rather than onto its surface. The reason grade never travels upward, the reason some totes always smell, and the reason rebottling exists as a service.
Read more →Buttress thread
The coarse asymmetric thread form on IBC outlets — S60×6 and S100×8. It does not mate with NPT or BSP, and forcing it strips a moulded boss that cannot be replaced.
Read more →Abbreviations
The acronyms and codes you will meet
Separate from the terms above because these are the ones that appear on plates, labels and quotes without explanation.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| IBC | Intermediate bulk container | Everywhere |
| HDPE | High-density polyethylene | Bottle material |
| PP | Polypropylene | Valve bodies, adapters |
| EPDM | Ethylene propylene diene monomer | Gasket compound, aqueous service |
| FKM | Fluoroelastomer (Viton) | Gasket compound, solvent service |
| NBR | Nitrile butadiene rubber | Gasket compound, petroleum service |
| PTFE | Polytetrafluoroethylene | Envelope gaskets, aggressive service |
| DN | Diamètre nominal — nominal diameter in mm | DN50 = 2 in, DN80 = 3 in |
| NPT | National pipe thread (tapered) | Plant pipework; does not mate with IBC outlets |
| BSP | British standard pipe | Imported equipment |
| GHT | Garden hose thread | Hose adapters |
| GMA | Grocery Manufacturers Association | The 48 × 40 in pallet standard |
| MFI | Melt flow index | Regrind specification |
| SG | Specific gravity | Fill weight calculations |
| CIP | Clean in place | Sanitary plants |
| PG | Packing group (I, II, III) | UN markings |
| ISPM-15 | International wood packaging standard | Hardwood bases crossing borders |
| LTL | Less than truckload | Freight mode |
| CO₂e | Carbon dioxide equivalent | Impact reporting |
Words that mean different things
Six terms used loosely across this industry
These cause more disputes than any technical issue, because two parties can use the same word in good faith and mean different things.
| Term | Can mean | Ask instead |
|---|---|---|
| Clean | Anything from rinsed to food grade | “Which of the six grades?” |
| Food safe | Nothing specific; no regulatory definition | “Is there a prior-contents affidavit?” |
| Reconditioned | With or without a pressure test, depending on supplier | “Is there a 3 psi test record?” |
| Refurbished | No agreed meaning in this trade | “What was actually done to it?” |
| UN certified | Was certified when made, possibly expired | “How many months of service life remain?” |
| Rebottled | Usually a new bottle; occasionally a swapped used one | “Is the bottle new, with a resin certificate?” |
Short answer
- Every ambiguous term has a precise question behind it
- The right-hand column is answerable; the left-hand column is not
- Get the grade word in writing before money moves
- Our definitions are at /size-guide/grades
From the Yard Journal
Longer pieces from the people who run the wash line, the test bay and the trading desk.
2 September 2022 · 6 min
Why your tote still smells after we washed it
Permeation is not a cleaning failure. It is a material property of HDPE, and understanding it explains most of the grading rules in this industry.
Priya Raghunathan · Head of reconditioning
Read18 December 2025 · 4 min
Our grading floor is deliberately boring
Six labelled bays, one decision per unit, no judgement calls allowed at the end of a shift. Interesting processes produce inconsistent grades.
Priya Raghunathan · Head of reconditioning
Read27 March 2025 · 4 min
Camlocks, buttress threads and the fitting that ruins an outlet
An IBC outlet is moulded into the bottle. Strip it and the whole bottle is scrap — which makes a four-dollar adapter the cheapest insurance in the catalogue.
Priya Raghunathan · Head of reconditioning
Read
Next move
Heard a term we have not defined?
Send it over. This glossary exists because customers kept asking what words meant, and it grows every time somebody asks about a new one.