Looking for reconditioned plastic drums? Browse live listings from suppliers across the US.
Browse ListingsAbout Reconditioned Plastic Drums
A reconditioned plastic drum is a used HDPE drum that has been emptied, washed, inspected for cracks and stress whitening, leak-tested, and fitted with new gaskets or bungs, with the original UN marking kept. That process is what makes it legal for hazmat reuse under 49 CFR 173.28.
A used or rinsed drum has had none of that work. A new drum has no history. Reconditioned sits in between, and with HDPE its prior contents matter more than with steel: polyethylene can absorb some products, so a reconditioned drum is food-grade only if what it held before was food-safe.
The UN rating does not improve with reconditioning. Check that the original marking still covers your product, and check the molded year, since HDPE ages and some buyers set their own limits on drum age.
What to Look For When Buying
- Original UN marking legible and covering your product
- Prior contents declared and compatible with the next fill
- No cracks, stress whitening or warping at the chime and bungs
- Interior free of odor, film or staining
- New gaskets or bungs that seal on a water test
Ideal For
- Compatible industrial liquids and chemicals
- Hazmat liquids within the original rating
- Food and agricultural reuse when prior contents were food-safe
- Water-based products that would rust steel
Not Recommended For
- Fills specified as first-use packaging
- Food contact when prior contents were industrial
Buying Tips
- Ask for the prior-contents declaration, not just "food-grade"
- Check the molded year of manufacture against your own drum age limits
- Keep food-grade and industrial reconditioned drums in separate stock
- Fill a sample with water and lay it on its side before accepting a load
What buyers pay
$14.70average per unit, $11.68 to $18.16