# awesome food grade buckets find!



## salmonslayer91 (Oct 10, 2010)

so i was looking around for buckets on craigslist couldnt find any cheap or close enough called fred myers bakery (kroger) 75cents a bucket called safeway free however they dont usually have more then one ready at a time, Albertsons 75 cents a bucket..... and finally the local donut shop Cork's donuts has HUNDREDS for wait for it.... FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE not only am i going to bucketall my sugar and salt in mylar but im going to be having one heck of a bucket garden this year planted with herbs potatos peanuts lettuse tomatos and more! lesson learned "call around"


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

great score!!!!!!!...seems a shame to drill holes in so many tho.....


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## bajiay (Apr 8, 2008)

I am glad you had a great find! I'm surprised no one got to them before now. Our Walmart gives them away for free. So I call ahead a few days before I am going so they save them for me.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

We usually buy from a guy in Corvallis, 50 cents a bucket with lid. Sure it's a bit of a drive from just south of Salem, hubby doesn't mind...Road Trip!


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Be aware that a lot of the food grade frosting type buckets will disintegrate really quickly, if left out in direct sun. Over a summer, they'll turn brittle and fall apart. Soooooo, don't plan any long term outside uses for these puppies. Find some chemical supply type buckets, and they'll last years, but for some reason the frosting buckets are designed to degrade...


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## cc (Jun 4, 2006)

I have been calling around here and have been told that they are recycling them (even Wal-Mart). I didn't think about donut places, not even sure if there is one here locally.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

I don`t know if I would believe they are recycling them, my wife has stopped at several stores to get some and they tell her they never have any. Well one day I just happened to look in their dumpster and sure enough there were a half dozen in there. I think they just don`t like being bothered with people asking and it`s easier to pitch them. > Marc


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## salmonslayer91 (Oct 10, 2010)

CC i just called the bakery dept's and asked if there was anyway i could come and pick up used frosting buckets about to go in the trash.

texican i hope i have super duper food grades id hate for them to fall apart after a few seasons

marinemomtatt i did hear about the man in corvallis but if i could get them closer and for free i think i won out i did got up there a while back and he had quite the selection thats for sure 

bajiay it does not seem many people ask for the buckets i heard "huh? you want those dirty frosting buckets? i guess i could set aside a few" im glad i found the motherload!

there are still a few more 50 or so if anybody wants them and lives in the area

and bee this is the best find i found id hate to have just spent $75+ on buckets 

springvalley i would dumpster dive anyday for a good shelf buckets and other rubbish  i once spent a whole month pulling old veggies and fruit from the dumpster behind the farmers market to feed a neighbors swine it really cut down on cost  it wasnt rotton or anything just not pretty for sale


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

Maybe someone could look at the number on the bottom of the frosting bucket. I think the higher the number, the more times it has been recycled. Maybe that has something to do with why they degrade faster....just grasping at straws here, but hoping to be of some help


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Texican, you would use those "chemical supply type buckets" to store "food"? Please explain why and how you prepare them for use with your food.


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

Great score!!! I get mine from work, they are the frosting buckets, but I have no plans to use them outside.


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## MaryE (Aug 29, 2007)

How about buckets that pickles were stored in? Are they heavier duty than the frosting buckets?

Side note - last time I was down visiting my mom in NC, we stopped at our favorite BBQ joint for lunch and they had a stack of buckets and lids for cheap. Had never seen this before, so I asked the manager for all of them. He said, "Oh, we have more upstairs. How many do you need?" My prepper response was "How many do you have?!" And yes, I got a discount for buying in bulk


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

I get all my buckets from restaurants for free. I'm surprised that places actually charge for them, but I guess it's better than buying new probably.


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## salmonslayer91 (Oct 10, 2010)

better then buying new????????? whens the last time you were at home depot? they want almost 5 dollars for a blaze or HD bucket and 3 dollars for a lid heck yes better then buying new  

trisha in wa i looked at the buckets they are recycle #5 so maybe someone will chime in with why these degrade faster then others as texican said


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

WOW! yeah I have never bought new! That is ridiculous!


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## joseph97297 (Nov 20, 2007)

We get them at the local Ingles, washed and stacked. They wait until they get around 30 or so and call us. They also save their glass pickle jars for us.


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## Wags (Jun 2, 2002)

Hmmm - I'll have to give Cork's a call 

They guy in Corvallis is actually in Adair - lots of buckets and he has gamma lids too along with 55gal water barrels that previously held cooking sherry.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

What a great find! I can attest to the falling apart buckets. My 3 Rotties play with plastic 55 gal. drums and buckets. The buckets,if sitting outside from me using one-dog will grab it and it will literally shatter in pieces.


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## salmonslayer91 (Oct 10, 2010)

wags give corks a call they will most likly have you come around 1130 or so thats when the sell out. he will open the gate to the trash area and you pretty much take as many buckets as you want. i will say that you will need to give them a good washing as some are pretty dirty with left of somtimes moldy frosting but nothing a good hose cant fix 

7th swan when your rotts are playing with th buckets do they literally shatter or after playing with them after a while they fall apart


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## Txrider (Jun 25, 2010)

Yup a lot of buckets will deteriorate with sunlight, not designed to be UV resistant as they aren't typically stored outside.

Buckets for products for hydrocarbons (oil) or such likely are going to be made of much more UV resistant stuff.

Another place to check might be swimming pool places, they have to go through tons of 5 gallon buckets of chlorine servicing people's pools. I have 3-4 that have been sitting in the sun for 2-3 years and are still good as new. They even have screw off child protective lids with good rubber gaskets..


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## salmonslayer91 (Oct 10, 2010)

i DEFINATLY dont want to plant any veggies in any buckets that haed petrol or chorline but if a person had a use for buckets that wouldnt cantaminate the crop grown inside or taint stored goods then by all means a great find


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## Limon (Aug 25, 2010)

springvalley said:


> I don`t know if I would believe they are recycling them, my wife has stopped at several stores to get some and they tell her they never have any. Well one day I just happened to look in their dumpster and sure enough there were a half dozen in there. I think they just don`t like being bothered with people asking and it`s easier to pitch them. > Marc


What are you health codes like? Here, most places won't store them for you because the health inspector will take points off if they find any in an inspection. The local bakery at the grocery store will give me their empties, but they won't store them beyond that day.


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## secretcreek (Jan 24, 2010)

cc said:


> I have been calling around here and have been told that they are recycling them (even Wal-Mart). I didn't think about donut places, not even sure if there is one here locally.


My local Wal-Mart will sell me their frosting buckets ( with gasket lids) for $1.00...BUT I have to ask for them by 9am or they have to recycle them. They are really nice for indoor storage..but Texican is correct that used outside they grow brittle.

-scrt crk


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

salmonslayer91 said:


> CC i just called the bakery dept's and asked if there was anyway i could come and pick up used frosting buckets about to go in the trash.
> 
> texican i hope i have super duper food grades id hate for them to fall apart after a few seasons


If they had food stored in them previously, they'll be food grade... just keep them out of direct sunlight. You'd really want to store all your food out of direct sunlight in the first place, at least anything in glass or plastic...



motdaugrnds said:


> Texican, you would use those "chemical supply type buckets" to store "food"? Please explain why and how you prepare them for use with your food.


I don't use non food grade buckets for storing food... not worth the trouble, as I can get plenty of 'good' buckets that just need a little soap and water.... the thought of getting some food tainted with odors or whatever, in an iffy bucket... that I might be depending on in the future for sustenance... nawww, I don't like those kind of gambles.

I do pick up any and all of the 'oily' 5 and 6 gallon buckets I find. Some I actually store oil in. The rest are good for hauling water, rocks, gravel, feed, whatever. They can be left outside for years without crumbling, just when you need em...

I'm thinking there's not a single bakery or donut shop in this country that doesn't use the pre-made frostings. The local guys here run through them daily. It's just a matter of ingratiating yourself into their favors... Going in blind, and asking for something 'might' get you some buckets... Going in, buying a box of whatever, and chewing the fat, a couple of times, and then asking... whole lot better chance.

Saying this... my best supplier hasn't had any out by their back door in at least a month. Methinks I have some competition. The 'dirty' supplier, that fills their buckets with used oil/grease still is untapped, but it's a chore draining out the oil on the road (so that the dogs don't find it and eat a bellyfull of rock, dirt, gravel, and grease).


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

salmonslayer91 said:


> wags give corks a call they will most likly have you come around 1130 or so thats when the sell out. he will open the gate to the trash area and you pretty much take as many buckets as you want. i will say that you will need to give them a good washing as some are pretty dirty with left of somtimes moldy frosting but nothing a good hose cant fix
> 
> 7th swan when your rotts are playing with th buckets do they literally shatter or after playing with them after a while they fall apart


As soon as one grabs on it,it will bust in pieces, much like an old glass window. The newer buckets get teeth marks, no breakage.


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## Txrider (Jun 25, 2010)

salmonslayer91 said:


> i DEFINATLY dont want to plant any veggies in any buckets that haed petrol or chorline but if a person had a use for buckets that wouldnt cantaminate the crop grown inside or taint stored goods then by all means a great find


The ones I get have had powdered chlorine or chlorine tablets in them, a good rinse and setting out for a couple of days and there is no chlorine to contaminate anything left in them whatsoever.

Dunno if I would store goods in an oil bucket though, but I would definitely plant plants in them after cleaning no problem. After all, the bucket itself is a 100% petroleum product... As are most plastic things.

Different kinds of plastics are quite different though. Some will breathe whatever is them in and out, some won't, or at least not as well. I might even prefer to store in the used chlorine buckets as they are likely made of very resilient and non breathable plastic. The properties and permeability of the plastic itself would be more of a deciding factor in whether I store something edible in a bucket than what was previously cleaned out of it would be.


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## yailukmuu (Mar 24, 2011)

texican said:


> Be aware that a lot of the food grade frosting type buckets will disintegrate really quickly, if left out in direct sun. Over a summer, they'll turn brittle and fall apart. Soooooo, don't plan any long term outside uses for these puppies. Find some chemical supply type buckets, and they'll last years, but for some reason the frosting buckets are designed to degrade...


That's a good point Texican. 

The buckets aren't designed to degrade, it's actually the opposite, the chemical buckets or buckets (or any plastic) that will be exposed to UV sunlight has a UV absorber, much like the sort that is found in sun block that we use on our skin.

Once I purchased an Old Town canoe from LL Bean and used it for over a decade, keeping it stored in a cellar, so it was only outside for perhaps a month or so. Then one year I stored it outside over the fall and winter. When I went to use it the first time of the season and stepped into it, it made a horrid crackling sound and looking closely you could see thousands of tiny cracks where my foot stepped.

I called LL Bean but did not expect any positive news, but they said: "It's a blue canoe--right?" I said: "yes." They explained that a bunch of blue plastic canoes in one year were formulated without the UV blocker in the plastic and they all failed. Even after a decade, they gave me a new one.

It's wise to remember that the food buckets not in sunlight would probably last for a hundred years, it's the sunlight that does the damage, so unless you store your buckets outside, they will be fine.

I have no idea if the UV absorber would be considered toxic, but I doubt that it's volatile at any rate, so I suspect the ones that are ok for outdoor storage are fine too.


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## coalroadcabin (Jun 16, 2004)

salmonslayer91 said:


> better then buying new????????? whens the last time you were at home depot? they want almost 5 dollars for a blaze or HD bucket and 3 dollars for a lid heck yes better then buying new
> 
> trisha in wa i looked at the buckets they are recycle #5 so maybe someone will chime in with why these degrade faster then others as texican said


Wow, prices on the west coast are pretty high! I'm on the east coast and the orange homer buckets are $2.98. I buy the white 5 gallon at Home Depot for $3.98 - lids are .99.

(none of the stores in my area will give out or sell buckets.......I'm thinking I'm going to check Costco when I make my run next month - I heard a rumor that they sold their bakery buckets)


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## Nico DeMouse (Feb 25, 2008)

For those of you that find buckets at donut shops, are they local places or chains? All we have around here are chains...


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## salmonslayer91 (Oct 10, 2010)

mine was local but i would assume that the chains buy the exact same frosting in the same buckets


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

I never thought to do this- I may just have to call one of the many bakeries here in town!!!


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