Method of cleaning a reusable collapsible container

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) The following relatively detailed description is provided to satisfy the patent statutes.
However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the invention.
With reference to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the container is generally referred to by the reference numeral 11.
It includes a bottom wall 12, a pair of end wall structures 13 and 14 and a pair of side wall structures 16 and 17.
(It is to be noted the bottom wall and the side wall structures have extruded ribs formed when the shell providing the bottom and side walls is extruded.
The shell is embossed to provide additional strength without adding weight or additional shell thickness.
) Each of the wall structures is connected to its associated bottom edge by a hinge which is made of plastic.
In this connection, the whole structure (except for the structural end frames to be discussed) is made as a one-piece plastic part, preferably from polypropylene (PP), with appropriate hinges.
That is, the plastic at the junctions between the walls and the bottom edges is made thinner so as to permit the walls to be moved between the two positions represented in FIGS.
1 and 2.
It should be realized that the technique of making such hinges from plastic is quite advanced and hinges can be provided which can be cycled many times without adverse consequences.
A band of material 18 circumscribes the walls holding all of the same together to form a container cavity with the bottom wall.
Printing or the like showing a grower's logo, the contents of a container, etc.
, can be included on the band of material at appropriate locations.
The location for the band itself is set.
The side and end wall structures define a path for the same.
This band also is most desirably made of a recyclable material.
In this connection, it will be recognized that with reuse of the container (but not the band for each container) there will be many bands which can be shredded and recycled