Chapter 08 · Cleaning standards
Published
protocols, so you
can audit us.
Most yards describe washing in adjectives. Here are the actual stage sequences we run, matched to last-contents category, with chemistry, temperature and hold time — the same document we hand to auditors.
Request our wash protocol sheetSent as a PDF, same business day
Protocols by category
Six last-contents categories, six recipes
The category is assigned at intake from the last-contents record. No record means no wash — the bottle goes to regrind.
| Category | Examples | Stage sequence | Key parameters | Resulting grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A · Food & potable | Syrup, edible oil, juice concentrate, drinking water | Pre-rinse → steam + food-safe detergent → final rinse → force dry → seal | 190°F steam, 6–10 min, no industrial caustic | Food Grade |
| B · Light industrial | Soap, surfactant, glycol, coolant | Pre-rinse → hot caustic → rinse → rinse → dry | 140–160°F, 2–4% caustic, 8–12 min | Washed / W3 |
| C · Agricultural | Liquid fertilizer, micronutrients, non-restricted ag chemicals | Triple rinse → high-pressure rotating head → dry | 2,000 psi, 3–5 min, rinsate captured | Washed / W3 |
| D · Oils & lubricants | Hydraulic fluid, cutting oil, motor oil | Pre-rinse → hot caustic with degreaser → rinse ×2 → dry | 160°F, extended 12–15 min hold | Technical / W3 |
| E · Water & brine | Non-potable water, de-icing brine, wash water | High-pressure rinse → dry | Ambient, 3 min | Technical |
| F · Rejected | Unknown contents, permeating solvents, unverifiable pesticide labels | No wash — bottle to regrind, cage to repair | — | Not sold for contact use |
Verification
How we know it worked
A wash is only a claim until something tests it.
- Visual, lit interior — photographed into the file, every unit
- Odour check — a trained nose detects absorbed residue that looks clean
- Final rinse clarity — the line holds until the rinse runs clear
- 30-minute leak hold — under pressure, reassembled, before grading
- Rinse-water analysis — available per unit at cost through an independent lab
- Dry verification — no standing water leaves the line, ever
Water
What the line consumes
- Fresh draw
- ≈ 42 litres per tote after the 2024 recirculation retrofit
- Before retrofit
- ≈ 105 litres per tote
- For comparison
- ≈ 185 litres of process water to produce the resin for one new 275-gallon bottle
- Discharge
- Filtered, settled, treated and lab-tested before leaving the property under our municipal permit
Cleaning questions
Including the awkward ones
Can you make a tote food grade if it held something industrial?
No. Cleaning changes the surface; it does not change the history. A bottle with one documented industrial fill is permanently out of the food-grade category on our line. We will rebottle it instead, which gives you a genuinely virgin interior.
What about odour that survives washing?
That is absorbed residue in the wall of the HDPE, and no further washing will remove it. The bottle goes to regrind. This is one of the most common reasons a sound-looking unit gets scrapped here.
Do you steam-clean everything?
No, and a yard that claims to is either exaggerating or wasting enormous amounts of energy. Steam is the right answer for food-category units. Hot caustic is more effective on industrial residues. Matching the method to the residue is the entire skill.
Is a 'triple rinse' meaningful?
For agricultural chemicals it is a recognised and genuinely effective procedure, when it is actually three separate fill-agitate-drain cycles rather than three passes with a hose. We log it as three cycles with captured rinsate.
Can I audit your line?
Yes. Customers with a quality programme are welcome to inspect the wash line during yard hours. Ask on the form and we will schedule it.
Ready to put a tote back to work?
Send one form. We answer with real numbers — grade, quantity, freight, lead time.