The grading standard, written down so it cannot drift.
A grade scale that lives in somebody's head becomes more generous every year. This is ours, in public, with the nine inspection points and the disqualifiers. Hold us to it.
Specify a grade
Not sure which grade your application needs? Describe the job instead.
Direct resale, retail-facing, export
Internal logistics, bulk shipping, storage
Scrap collection, in-plant totes, one-way moves
Baled OCC → paper mill
The same container, aged four ways.
Descriptions of box condition are notoriously useless. Drag the lens and watch corner squareness go, scuffs appear, labels accumulate and finally the base course stain through.
Each stop on the slider corresponds exactly to a grade on our quotes. There is no fifth, secret grade.
What the lens is showing you
- Corner squareness opening up as the box is over-stuffed
- Surface scuffing and accumulated label residue
- Crushing at the two corners that take forklift contact
- Moisture staining wicking up through the base course
Four signals, in the order a grader checks them. The ninth and most important — soft board in the bottom third of the long panel — cannot be drawn, which is why we photograph every lot before you commit to it.
Grade B — Good, light wear
Minor surface scuffs, light creasing on one panel, clean interior. All flaps intact and fully functional.
What a grader actually looks at, in order.
Ordered by how well each point predicts failure under load, not by how obvious it is.
| # | Point | What disqualifies | Downgrades to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bottom third of the long panel | Soft, fuzzed or delaminated board from tine strikes | Recovery |
| 2 | Vertical corner squareness | Corners bowed outward from over-stuffing | C, or recovery if severe |
| 3 | Liner colour banding | Patchy darkening indicating moisture cycling | Recovery |
| 4 | Flap edge condition | Fuzzed or feathered edges; missing flap corners | C, or bench repair |
| 5 | Score line integrity | Cracked rather than creased folds | C, or bench re-score |
| 6 | Manufacturer's joint | Separated glue line or pulled staples | Bench repair |
| 7 | Interior cleanliness | Residue, dust, previous product traces | C |
| 8 | Print and label residue | Heavy multi-colour print or continuous tape bands | B at best; re-face station |
| 9 | Top edge crush | Crushing on stacked or racked units | Bench reinforcement, else C |
Four hard disqualifiers
These four send a container to the baler or the honeycomb press regardless of how good the rest of it looks. None of them are repairable, and attempting to repair them is how a supplier gets a reputation for boxes that fail in racks.
- Delamination. Liner separated from medium. The structure is gone.
- Moisture through the flutes. Flutes never fully recover their stiffness.
- Crushed flutes across a load-bearing corner. No patch restores vertical strength.
- Hazardous-material markings. Regulatory, not structural — but absolute.
Repaired containers are re-graded from zero
A container that comes off the repair bench does not inherit its original grade. It goes back through the same inspection sequence as a new arrival and earns whatever it earns. This is the mechanism that stops grade inflation, and it is the reason our grade B means the same thing in 2026 as it did in 2014.
A mixed load is priced and labelled as a mixed load, with an approximate distribution stated. We do not blend grade C into a grade B pallet and hope the average holds. If you want mixed, say so and we will quote it honestly.
Our standing offer
If a pallet arrives and you disagree with the grade, photograph it and tell us. Under 5% variance we credit without inspection. Over that, we collect it.
Grading, specifically.
Why not use the industry-standard grade scale?
There is not one. 'Used', 'reconditioned' and 'A-grade' have no agreed definition in used corrugated, which is exactly why we wrote ours down and published it.
Do you grade on inbound or outbound?
Inbound, within 24 hours of arrival. Grading on outbound sounds more efficient and is a mistake — damaged containers re-enter circulation and fail in a customer's rack.
Can I specify my own grade criteria?
Yes, and several pooled customers do. We will grade to your written standard and report against it. It costs a little more because it breaks our batching, and we will tell you how much.
What percentage of inbound is grade A?
Typically 11 – 16%, depending on the source. Grade A carries the sorting cost of everything rejected to find it, which is why it prices at a premium rather than slightly above B.
Is grade C worth buying?
For one-way moves, in-plant totes and scrap collection, absolutely — it does the job at the lowest cost per use. For anything that stacks in a rack, buy B.
The nine points, in the order a grader checks them.
Ordered by how well each point predicts failure under load, not by how obvious it is. The first one is the least visible and the most important.
| # | What is checked | What disqualifies | Downgrades to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bottom third of the long panel | Soft, fuzzed or delaminated board from tine strikes | Recovery |
| 2 | Vertical corner squareness | Corners bowed outward from over-stuffing | C, or recovery if severe |
| 3 | Liner colour banding | Patchy darkening indicating moisture cycling | Recovery |
| 4 | Flap edge condition | Fuzzed or feathered edges; missing flap corners | C, or bench repair |
| 5 | Score line integrity | Cracked rather than creased folds | C, or bench re-score |
| 6 | Manufacturer's joint | Separated glue line or pulled staples | Bench repair |
| 7 | Interior cleanliness | Residue, dust, previous product traces | C |
| 8 | Print and label residue | Heavy multi-colour print or continuous tape bands | B at best; re-face station |
| 9 | Top edge crush | Crushing on stacked or racked units | Bench reinforcement, else C |
The strength you lose, and never get back.
Board that has been to 20% moisture and dried back to 9% does not recover its original strength. The damage is permanent and invisible — the box looks fine and fails at a load it used to carry.
| Moisture content | Edge crush retained | What it means | What we do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 – 8% | 100% | Specification condition, as tested at the mill | Nothing |
| 10% | ~90% | Normal conditioned warehouse | Nothing |
| 12% | ~80% | Noticeable softening; stacking margin eroding | Reduce stack height |
| 15% | ~60% | Do not stack; one more cycle at best | Grade down to C |
| 18% | ~45% | Structural life effectively over | Bench or baler |
| 20%+ | ~35% | Finished, even after drying back | Baler |
Eight failure modes, coded from our own retirements.
Ordered by share of retired containers. Note how few are repairable, and how many are prevented by something that costs almost nothing.
| Failure mode | Share | Repairable? | What prevents it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forklift tine strike, lower long panel | 31% | Rarely | Floor approach guides, full-deck pallets, slower pick-face speed |
| Moisture through the flutes | 26% | No | Pallets not concrete, covered storage, let cold trailers equalise |
| Top-edge crush | 18% | Sometimes | Telescoping lids on anything stacked or racked |
| Strapping cut at the corner | 9% | Sometimes | Corner boards — the cheapest fix on this list |
| Corner rounding from over-stuffing | 7% | No | Do not fill above the top score line; buy the taller box |
| Cracked score lines | 5% | Yes, re-score | Separate lids instead of repeatedly folded flaps |
| Manufacturer's joint failure | 3% | Yes | Prefer stapled joints over glued for reuse |
| Delamination | 1% | No | Moisture control; there is no other cause worth chasing |
Seven repairs, and the limits of each.
Just as important as what a bench can fix is what it cannot. A repaired box that fails is worse than a baled one, and attempting the impossible repairs is how a yard destroys its own grade scale.
| Operation | Bench time | Life recovered | Material | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flap splice | 3 – 5 min | 2 – 4 trips | Recovered board offcut | Not viable past two missing flaps |
| Patch panel | 6 – 9 min | 3 – 5 trips | Recovered board offcut | Cannot patch a load-bearing vertical corner |
| Re-scoring | 2 – 3 min | 2 – 3 trips | None | Will not square a rounded corner |
| Edge reinforcement | 5 – 7 min | 3 – 4 trips | Recovered board strip | Needs sound board either side |
| Label & residue removal | 2 – 6 min | Appearance | Minimal | Heavy residue needs blank-out print |
| Blank-out printing | 1 – 2 min | Appearance | Ink | Single colour only |
| Corner post insertion | 8 – 12 min | 4 – 6 trips | Laminated board post | Only on triple wall |
Five levels, and what each is good for.
No level of cleaning makes a used corrugated container suitable for direct food contact. What it does is make a container acceptable for its actual application, which is a different and answerable question.
| Level | Method | Suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Visual inspection only | Grading station check for residue and odour | General industrial, scrap, internal moves |
| Vacuum and blow-down | Compressed air and industrial vacuum | Resin, granulate, dusty materials |
| Label and residue removal | Mechanical removal at the re-face station | Anything customer-facing |
| Liner barrier | New FDA-compliant liner each cycle | Food ingredients, pet food, produce |
| Secure destruction | Shredding and baling with certification | Branded or regulated containers |
The liners and mediums underneath every box.
Board specification starts one level below the box: which liner, which medium, at what basis weight. Basis weight is stated in pounds per thousand square feet.
| Grade | Basis weight | Fibre | Typical use | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft liner 26# | 26 lb/MSF | Virgin kraft | Light single wall | Lowest practical outer liner |
| Kraft liner 33# | 33 lb/MSF | Virgin kraft | Standard 32 ECT outer | The commonest liner in North America |
| Kraft liner 42# | 42 lb/MSF | Virgin kraft | 44 ECT and double wall | Noticeably stiffer, better print |
| Kraft liner 69# | 69 lb/MSF | Virgin kraft | Triple wall outer | Gaylord-grade facing |
| Test liner 2 | 27 – 50 lb/MSF | ≥ 80% recycled | General shipper | Most recycled-content board |
| Test liner 3 | 27 – 50 lb/MSF | 100% recycled | Internal and bulk | Lower burst for the same weight |
| Mottled white | 35 – 42 lb/MSF | Mixed | Retail-facing print | White outer, kraft back |
| Semi-chem medium 26# | 26 lb/MSF | Semi-chemical | Standard flute medium | Highest stiffness per weight |
| Recycled medium 23# | 23 lb/MSF | 100% recycled | Economy flute medium | Common in test-liner board |
| Type | Where it is used | Water resistance | Recycling | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starch (corrugating) | Liner to medium | Low resistance | Ideal | The standard bond in all corrugated board |
| Hot melt EVA | Manufacturer's joint, cases | Moderate | Tolerated | Fast set; brittle when cold |
| Cold-set PVA | Case sealing | Low | Ideal | Slow set, strong fibre tear |
| Water-resistant starch | Produce board | High | Good | Alternative to wax for damp environments |
| Pressure-sensitive | Tape, labels | Varies | Tolerated in small amounts | Residue downgrades grade A board |
| Stitching (staples) | Manufacturer's joint | Unaffected | Removed in the junk trap | Outlasts glue through reuse cycles |