The Tank Ledger —
every tote, every life.
Every tank that comes through PTR gets a unique ID, a short biography, and a destination — from its first life to its last. This ledger is public. Search for a tank number you bought from us, browse by grade, or just scroll. You'll see there's nothing hidden.
Skip the phone tag. Leave a note — we'll reply by email.
- Tank IDPTR-028514275 gal · Grade AFirst lifeApple juice concentrateNext lifeHard cider production (Butler, PA)OriginJuice bottler · Somerset, PAResidue on intakeTrace pectinNotes: Re-racked, UN31A cert renewed 2026-04-02.ShippedRec'd 2026-03-22
- Tank IDPTR-028515275 gal · Grade BFirst lifeBiodiesel (B100)Next lifeSoap-making co-op (Lawrenceville)OriginBiofuels plant · New CastleResidue on intakeGlycerin filmIn yardRec'd 2026-03-22
- Tank IDPTR-028516330 gal · Grade AFirst lifeMaple syrupNext lifeCraft beverage startup (Strip District)OriginSugar shack · Potter CountyResidue on intakeNone (rinsed)ReconditioningRec'd 2026-03-23
- Tank IDPTR-028517275 gal · Grade ReclaimedFirst lifeUnknown — label missingNext lifeGranulated to HDPE pellet streamOriginAnonymous drop-off · Saturday windowResidue on intakeUnclassifiedNotes: Declined for resale due to unknown contents. Pellet batch #R-2026-14.GranulatedRec'd 2026-03-23
- Tank IDPTR-028518275 gal · Grade BFirst lifeGlycol coolantNext lifeFleet DEF pumping station (custom build)OriginHVAC contractor · GreentreeResidue on intakeTraceIn yardRec'd 2026-03-24
- Tank IDPTR-028519330 gal · Grade AFirst lifeHoneyNext lifeApiary cooperative (Washington County)OriginHoney packer · McKeesportResidue on intakeTrace waxShippedRec'd 2026-03-24
- Tank IDPTR-028520275 gal · Grade BFirst lifeDetergent concentrateNext lifeAuto detailing shop (Monroeville)OriginCommercial laundry · WilkinsburgResidue on intakeSoap filmShippedRec'd 2026-03-25
- Tank IDPTR-028521275 gal · Grade CFirst lifeRainwater storageNext lifeFlood barrier kit (custom)OriginHomeowner · Regent SquareResidue on intakeMud, algaeReconditioningRec'd 2026-03-25
- Tank IDPTR-028522330 gal · Grade BFirst lifeLiquid fertilizer (10-34-0)Next lifeHops farm (Beaver County)OriginAg distributor · New BrightonResidue on intakeChelated ironIn yardRec'd 2026-03-26
- Tank IDPTR-028523275 gal · Grade AFirst lifeDistilled waterNext lifePharmaceutical blending (rebottled)OriginWater supplier · CoraopolisResidue on intakeNoneReconditioningRec'd 2026-03-26
- Tank IDPTR-028524275 gal · Grade ReclaimedFirst lifeUnknown industrial — label partially legibleNext lifeGranulated; cage to scrap (Etna)OriginIndustrial yard cleanout · ClairtonResidue on intakeUnclassifiedGranulatedRec'd 2026-03-27
- Tank IDPTR-028525275 gal · Grade AFirst lifeMolassesNext lifeCraft rum distillery (Mt. Washington)OriginFood processor · BraddockResidue on intakeTraceShippedRec'd 2026-03-27
- Tank IDPTR-028526275 gal · Grade BFirst lifePickle brineNext lifeFermenting cooperative (Bloomfield)OriginPickle maker · HomesteadResidue on intakeVinegar traceIn yardRec'd 2026-03-28
- Tank IDPTR-028527275 gal · Grade BFirst lifeWindow cleaner concentrateNext lifeJanitorial supply shop (McKeesport)OriginCleaning supply · DormontResidue on intakeDetergent filmShippedRec'd 2026-03-28
- Tank IDPTR-028528275 gal · Grade BFirst lifeEthanol (denatured)Next lifeBiofuel testing lab (Carnegie)OriginDistillery equipment yard · LawrencevilleResidue on intakeNone — evaporatedIn yardRec'd 2026-03-29
- Tank IDPTR-028529330 gal · Grade AFirst lifeSpring water (bottled)Next lifeEvent water reservoir (Oakland)OriginWater bottler · LatrobeResidue on intakeNoneReconditioningRec'd 2026-03-29
- Tank IDPTR-028530275 gal · Grade RebottledFirst lifePasteurized milk (sanitized)Next lifeDairy farm cold-storage (Indiana County)OriginCreamery · Armstrong CountyResidue on intakeNoneReconditioningRec'd 2026-03-30
- Tank IDPTR-028531275 gal · Grade AFirst lifeSoy sauceNext lifeFermentation kitchen (Garfield)OriginAsian food importer · Strip DistrictResidue on intakeSalt crystalsIn yardRec'd 2026-03-30
- Tank IDPTR-028532275 gal · Grade AFirst lifeVegetable glycerinNext lifeSoap maker (North Side)OriginCosmetics manufacturer · MonacaResidue on intakeTraceShippedRec'd 2026-03-31
- Tank IDPTR-028533275 gal · Grade CFirst lifeHydraulic fluidNext lifeEquipment washdown reservoirOriginHeavy equipment yard · Neville IslandResidue on intakeOil filmIn yardRec'd 2026-03-31
Why a public record?
When you sell us a tote, you can look up the ID and see where it went next. When you buy from us, the ID tells you the tank's history — contents, grade, and who reconditioned it. It's not marketing theater; it's how we prove the loop actually closes. If the ledger doesn't match what you see on a tank, we fix the ledger.
Reading a ledger entry
Each entry is a six-field row. Here's what every field actually means, and why we bother recording it.
A sequential number we assign at intake. 'NEW' prefix marks a factory-sealed unit we sold new. The cage is etched; the ledger holds the match.
What the tank last held, drawn from the seller's paperwork or label. For Grade C returns with no documentation we mark it 'unknown industrial' and the tank's route narrows accordingly.
The grade assigned on receive-line inspection. Grades can change if a unit comes back and re-qualifies — those changes get a second ledger line, not an overwrite.
Where the unit went after us. Blank means it's still in-yard. Once it's sold, the line gets the date and the rough region (we redact buyer names by default).
How many times the physical tank has passed through our yard. The record-holder is PTR-00471, a 2009 Schütz at eleven cycles and still re-certifying.
For reconditioned and new units, every supporting document is PDF-linked to the entry. Bring the tank ID to any audit and the whole chain resolves.
The ledger in numbers.
The aggregate math behind the public record. Updated at each quarterly audit — the numbers below represent the cumulative state as of the most recent verification.
Equivalent to roughly 87 million one-gallon milk jugs never made from virgin resin.
Using IPCC-default LCA factors for US-grid HDPE production, net of our wash and transport load.
A healthy tank passes through us roughly every 16 months. That's the number the whole closed-loop claim hinges on.
Hand-written in a composition notebook for the first two years, then a spreadsheet, now the database that powers this page.
Why this is public, not private
When we started in 2008, most of the tote industry kept its numbers close. A broker would buy in bulk at auction, rebadge, and sell with no paper trail. We could not audit a single unit we had sold a customer six months earlier. That felt dishonest to us, so we started writing it down.
By year three the handwritten book had 1,200 entries and a habit. By 2014 it was a proper database, and customers started quoting our tank IDs back to us when ordering repeat runs. The first regulated food plant asked for a ledger link in 2018; today roughly forty percent of our sales to commercial customers include the ID in the PO.
The ledger is public because secrecy is where greenwashing lives. If our claims aren't verifiable, they aren't claims — they're advertising.
How a tote moves through the ledger
A single tank typically generates six to twelve ledger lines over its working life with us. Here's the life-arc of PTR-00471, our most-cycled unit, reconstructed from the record.
| Cycle | Year | Prior content | Grade out | Next home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 2010 | Factory-new, virgin | New | Sharon, PA detergent blender |
| 02 | 2012 | Non-ionic detergent | B (reconditioned) | Youngstown, OH car-wash supply |
| 03 | 2014 | Vehicle soap concentrate | B (reconditioned) | Morgantown, WV fertilizer dealer |
| 04 | 2016 | Liquid fertilizer 10-10-10 | B | Butler County, PA farm |
| 05 | 2018 | Fertilizer 20-10-10 | B | Armstrong County, PA orchard |
| 06 | 2020 | Copper sulfate solution | C (contained prior) | Greenhouse mister ballast, Beaver Co. |
| 07 | 2021 | Non-potable water | C | Rainwater harvester build, Wilkinsburg |
| 08 | 2022 | Rainwater | C | Retained — flood barrier stock |
| 09 | 2023 | Sand/water fill (flood kit) | C | Deployed 3×, Sharpsburg lumberyard |
| 10 | 2024 | Sand/water fill | C | Returned to yard, integrity check |
| 11 | 2025 | Storage only | C · re-cert | Back on flood-kit standby |
Fifteen years, eleven cycles, zero landfill. The tank is 2010-molded HDPE still holding pressure in 2025. This is the case the ledger exists to prove — not in aggregate, but one tank at a time.
Questions about the record.
Yes. A CSV of the last 10,000 entries is downloadable to any customer on request, and a full dump to any auditor or researcher. We redact buyer personal information by default.
It gets a final ledger line: 'scrapped — HDPE resin recovered, cage steel recycled.' The cage goes to a regional mill, the HDPE is ground and sold into black-resin applications (drainage pipe, speed bumps, park benches).
Rarely, but yes. Our loss rate sits under 0.4% of annual throughput — usually tanks sold to customers who wanted no return-program commitment. We log these as 'departed, not tracked' so the aggregate math stays honest.
Counts update nightly from the yard database. The quarterly audit smooths any discrepancy between what's counted and what's claimed, and those deltas are published openly.