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Sustainability · 9 min · March 12, 2025

Annual sustainability report — calendar year 2024

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By Dana R.·Published March 12, 2025·Sustainability

We publish a yearly sustainability rollup because nobody can hold us accountable to a commitment they cannot see. This is the second year we have done one of these.

Volume

  • Inbound corrugate tonnage: 2,847 tons (vs 2,612 in 2023, +9.0%).
  • Outbound reused Gaylord boxes shipped: 34,118 units (vs 31,260 in 2023).
  • IBC totes reconditioned and shipped: 7,940 units (vs 6,820 in 2023).
  • Pallets handled (in + out, net): ~52,000.

Reuse and diversion

  • Inbound corrugate reuse rate (reused as a box, not pulped): 87.4%.
  • Off-grade corrugate sent to mill partner for repulping: 359 tons.
  • Corrugate sent to landfill: 0 lbs (fourth consecutive year).

Estimated avoided impact

Using EPA WARM 2024 emission factors and our internal tracking of reuse cycles:

  • Avoided virgin linerboard production (estimated): ~580 tons.
  • Avoided CO₂-equivalent emissions: ~720,000 lbs.
  • Avoided process water (manufacturing-side): ~1.7 million gallons.

Where we fell short

Two things did not go the way we wanted in 2024.

First, our regrade-upgrade rate — the percentage of Grade-C inbound we successfully repaired and upgraded to Grade B — dropped to 24% from 31% in 2023. We trace that to a higher mix of single-trip retail Gaylords coming in, which arrived in better condition but had less salvageable surface area for repair. We are not sure that is a bad outcome environmentally, but it is a different one than we projected.

Second, our closed-loop reuse rate dipped one percentage point year-over-year, from 89% to 88%. That is statistical noise on the surface, but we saw it concentrated in two programs that ran into receiving-side cooperation issues. We are working with both customers in early 2025 to fix the bottlenecks.

What 2025 has on its sheet

We are setting two targets we plan to publish against next March:

  • Hold the inbound reuse rate at or above 87%.
  • Add two new closed-loop programs without dilution of the reuse rate across the portfolio.

If you want the full data file behind this rollup, email hello@ibctanksmilwaukee.com. We will send you the spreadsheet.

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