Octabins for resin, regrind and produce

Octabins carry what rectangular boxes cannot hold in shape. A rectangular wall flexes under a dense, flowing load; an octagonal wall pushes the load into the corners and holds. Plastics molders use them for pellets and regrind, and growers use them for squash, melons and pumpkins, where they are also sold as watermelon bins.

The standard octabin

The octabin is 5‑wall or heavy 3‑wall, and it sits on the same 48 x 40 pallet as a rectangular gaylord. The 46 x 38 x 36 size page has the footprint drawing.

Loads that want an octabin

• Resin and regrind. Ground plastic scrap is one of the most common loads in used gaylords, and it pushes on every wall. The plastics guide covers box choices.
• Powders. Pair the octabin with a full flap bottom and a poly liner.
• Produce. Squash, pumpkins and melons. The harvest bins page covers ventilated bottoms and need-by dates.

How high an octabin stands

Why the corners are cut

An octagonal box has no sharp corners where flowable material can pack and bridge. Resin pellets and regrind slide to the bottom and out; produce spreads its weight along eight panels instead of four. The shape also reacts to bulging differently from a rectangle: pressure from inside is shared across more panels, so the box keeps its footprint longer under load. That is why octabins show up at resin plants and in fruit and squash fields far more often than their price might suggest.

What to put on an octabin request

For an octabin, the most useful details are the material, the weight of a full bin, the way you empty it and the wall count you were thinking of. Resin pellets, regrind, fruit and squash behave differently, and the opening at the top or the bottom changes the choice of bin. Say whether the bin is emptied by tipping, by a bottom chute or by hand, and whether it will stand outside before it is filled.

Octabins are usually 46 x 38 in on the 48 x 40 pallet, which leaves a small gap on each side. Check that your forks and your racking accept that shape before ordering a quantity.

Octabins in the cold

Corrugated octabins stand up to Minnesota winters the same way other corrugated does: well when dry and badly when wet. A bin that waits outside for a harvest, with snow and then a thaw, loses strength from the bottom upwards. If the bins will stand outdoors for any length of time, ask for a higher wall count or keep them on pallets, off the ground, under a cover.

Where octabins differ from rectangular boxes

An octabin gives up some pallet efficiency for flow and strength. Its footprint is slightly smaller than a standard pallet, so the pallet edge is exposed, and an exposed edge is easier to damage. On the other hand, the cut corners make it easier to empty and, for fruit, kinder to the crop. If you are choosing between the two for a mixed operation, ask for a few of each and see which suits the line.

Regrind and flow

Regrind flows unpredictably. Fine flakes pour, long strips bridge and mixed batches segregate as they settle. An octabin's cut corners reduce the places where a bridge can form, but they do not remove them. If your regrind bridges in a bin, tell us the flake size, because a taller, narrower bin and a different opening may serve better.

Reading an octabin listing

A listing for an octabin should give the wall count, the footprint and the height, the type of bottom and, where the maker rates it, the capacity. The 46 x 38 x 36 octagon is the size most often listed, and one maker lists it at 2,200 lb. A listing that says only "octagonal bin" without a wall count leaves out the most important number, and a request can ask for it.

Lids, where fitted, should be checked for fit in the same way.

Questions, answered