Five questions to ask before you choose a recondition vendor

Tote reconditioning is mostly unregulated in the US. Anyone with a wash bay and a pressure washer can call themselves a reconditioner. Here are the five questions that will quickly tell you whether you're talking to a real operation or a guy with a hose.

1. What's your wash protocol, in steps? A real shop can recite it: pre-rinse, caustic recirculation, neutralization rinse, sanitizing rinse (if food-grade), multiple HP rinses, sample test. A bad shop says "we wash them really well." Walk away.

2. Where does the wash water go? Reuse and treatment, ideally. If they discharge straight to sewer, that's allowed but inefficient. If they discharge anywhere else, run.

3. Can I see a wash log for a recent batch? Logs should include: prior contents (with documentation), wash steps, leak test results, inspection notes, and operator initials. If they don't keep batch logs, they can't certify food-grade.

4. Do you re-certify under UN31HA1/Y? Where the bottle qualifies, a competent shop can re-cert under the original drop-test regime and provide the certification paperwork. Many can't.

5. What happens to bottles you can't recondition? If the answer is "we send them to a recycler" without specifying which one or where, that's a red flag. Ask for the name of the regrind buyer. If they ship overseas, ask why.

We've used these questions to evaluate other yards (sometimes to source from them, sometimes to refer customers when they're outside our region). About half of the shops we've talked to fail two or more of the questions. It's a real industry-wide quality gap.

Same questions work in reverse if you're a tote-fleet owner shopping for a wash partner. The answers should be specific and short. Vague answers mean a vague process means inconsistent results.