“REDUCE – REUSE – RECYCLE” a Reconditioner’s Mantra
Had to chuckle as I was reading the blog from our friends at Maxi Container, www.maxicontainer.com, listening to Rich’s report from the Reusable Industrial Packaging Association fall conference in Orlando. Rich wrote, “Some new drum manufacturers think that by reducing the thickness of the steel or plastic in their drums that they are promoting ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ sustainability.”
The argument from the manufacturer’s was that a thinner drum translated to “less waste” at the time the drum was scrapped. What MBC and Maxi can testify to, is that thinner drums are less durable, tear easier, and go out of service quicker. This means MORE energy is used to transport, scrap, and recycle the raw material to make a new drum.
Many of MBC’s customers are Petrochemical companies and the workhorse of their industry is the closed (tight) head steel 55-gallon drum. During transportation, packaging, and field use, heavy steel drums are often subjected to rough handling, which can jeopardize the material being transported inside the drum. A thicker gauge steel drum benefits the packager in two important ways: more reuse and less damage, which could result in leaks and spills. In the future when ordering, specify a thicker gauge drum if you have a choice.
Every new and “like new” reconditioned drum undergoes a series of tests to insure its quality. At MBC, we understand sustainability is not about cheapening a product.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a set of “good housekeeping” requirements for used oil handlers. These are detailed in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 279.
EPA’s regulatory definition of used oil is as follows: “Used oil is any oil that has been refined from crude oil or any synthetic oil that has been used and as a result of such use is contaminate by physical or chemical impurities.” To meet EPA’s definition, a substance must meet three criterion of origin, use, and contaminants.
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