Totes & products · From $65
Upcycled Creations
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The best use for a container nobody will buy
A Grade C tote has a real problem — heavy staining, a repaired weep, a cage with a bad foot — that rules out selling it for product. It also has 1.45 cubic metres of perfectly sound structure and another decade of life in it. Shredding that is a waste of manufacturing energy that has already been spent. Cutting it into something useful is not a craft project; it is the highest-value thing left to do with the object.
What we build
Rain harvesting kits
A capped tote plumbed with a first-flush diverter, an inlet screen to keep leaves and mosquitoes out, an overflow, and a tap at a usable height. A single 275 stores enough to see a decent-sized garden through a dry fortnight. Sizing, plumbing and the legal position in New York are covered in our rainwater harvesting guide, linked below.
Raised beds and planters
Cut horizontally, edges capped, cage retained as the structure. Two beds per tote, each about 46 by 40 inches — a working height that does not require kneeling. Popular with community gardens and schools, and we discount heavily for both.
Aquaponics and hydroponics
Sump tanks, grow beds and media beds cut to whatever geometry the system needs. The cage makes an excellent frame for a stacked build, which is why the aquaponics community adopted these containers long before anyone was calling it upcycling.
Wash stations and site furniture
Boot-wash and tool-wash stations for construction sites, potting benches, dog-wash units, planters and barriers for streetscape projects, and set dressing for film production — New York shoots get through a surprising number of convincingly industrial props.
One rule we do not bend
We only upcycle containers whose prior contents we can document, and we will not build anything food-adjacent, potable or growing-related out of a tote with an industrial history. A raised bed made from a solvent tote will leach into the soil for years. If the paperwork is not there, the container goes to recycling instead.
Custom work
Tell us the dimensions and the job. We have built sand-and-salt bins for a co-op, ballast blocks for a rigging company, a mobile hand-wash bank for an outdoor event, and a great many things for people who arrived with a sketch on the back of a delivery note.
Can I grow vegetables in one?
In a documented food-grade or clean-water container, yes. In one with an unknown or industrial history, no — permeated chemistry leaches back out into soil. We only build growing products from containers whose history we can prove.
Is rainwater harvesting legal in New York?
Yes, and in New York City it is actively encouraged — there are DEP programmes supporting it for stormwater reduction. Our guide covers the practical requirements: screening, overflow to a permeable surface, and keeping it non-potable.
Do you do bulk for schools or community groups?
Yes, at cost plus fabrication for registered schools and community gardens. Email us with the project and roughly what you need.
Need upcycled creations?
Tell us the quantity, the contents and the date. You'll have grades, pricing and a delivery window within one business day.
