Reconditioned IBC totes aren't just an environmental choice — they're a financial one. Here's how businesses across the St. Louis metropolitan area are leveraging used and reconditioned IBCs to reduce operational costs while meeting their liquid storage needs.
Urban Farm: Bellefontaine Neighbors
A 5-acre urban farm in Bellefontaine Neighbors replaced their aging drip irrigation system's supply drums with a bank of six reconditioned IBC totes.
The situation: The farm was using twelve 55-gallon drums for irrigation water storage — constantly refilling, managing connections between drums, and dealing with drum-specific problems (hard to clean, hard to move, no gravity feed).
The solution: Six Grade A reconditioned IBCs connected in series with overflow linkages. Total capacity: 1,650 gallons vs. the previous 660 gallons, in less floor space.
The savings: The IBC system cost approximately $1,100 total (six totes + plumbing). The equivalent new poly tank installation was quoted at $3,800. Annual water bill savings from rainwater supplementation: approximately $400.
Craft Brewery: Maplewood
A small craft brewery in Maplewood uses reconditioned food-grade IBC totes for ingredient storage.
The situation: The brewery needed bulk storage for grain-neutral spirit, filtered water, and specialty ingredients. New stainless IBCs were quoted at $2,200-3,500 each.
The solution: Four food-grade reconditioned HDPE IBCs for non-critical storage (cleaning water, backup supply, spent grain collection). Stainless reserved only for direct-contact fermentation applications.
The savings: Approximately $8,000+ saved by using reconditioned HDPE where stainless wasn't strictly required. No quality compromise on the final product.
Manufacturing: Earth City Industrial Park
A chemical blending facility in Earth City (our neighbors!) needed to replace 40 aging IBCs in their product staging area.
The situation: Their existing fleet of 40 IBCs had reached end-of-certification for transport use. New replacements were quoted at $18,000-22,000 for the lot.
The solution: We provided 40 reconditioned IBCs with fresh reconditioning certification at approximately 50% the cost of new. Delivered over two weeks with old IBCs picked up for recycling.
The savings: Approximately $10,000 net savings after factoring recycling credits for old units.
Landscaping Company: Chesterfield
A landscape maintenance company with 8 trucks uses IBC totes as mobile water supply for irrigation installation projects.
The situation: Each truck needs 275+ gallons of water for plant installation and sod laying. Purpose-built truck tanks cost $1,800-2,500 installed.
The solution: Used Grade B IBC totes secured on truck beds. At $80-100 each, they provide the same 275-gallon capacity. When a tote gets damaged from jobsite use, replacement cost is minimal.
The savings: $12,000-16,000 in initial fleet setup costs vs. purpose-built tank systems. Plus, damaged units are replaced for under $100 instead of $2,000.
The Common Thread
Every successful IBC tote deployment we've seen shares three characteristics: 1. The buyer correctly assessed their actual needs (vs. over-specifying) 2. Condition/grade was matched appropriately to the application 3. The cost savings enabled investment elsewhere in the business
Whether you're a one-person farm or a 200-employee manufacturer, reconditioned IBCs can probably save you money somewhere in your operation.