One Man's Trash...Waste Management Is Big Business

Most people never give waste management a thought beyond the time it takes them carry their trash bags to street curb. But for many businesses and government agencies, waste management is serious business.

In a nutshell, waste management is the industry which revolves around the collection, storage, and disposal of waste, ranging from ordinary household waste to the waste generated at nuclear power plants. Developing effective waste management strategies is critical for many businesses and agencies of all sizes because waste can develop into a major problem when not handled properly.

Waste management is a necessary part of risk management. Trash compaction helps to minimize risks by reducing the possibility of fire through removing combustible loose waste, keeping floors free from waste materials that might cause a person to slip, trip or fall, and yields a corresponding number of financial and other benefits.

Waste management is also a part of property maintenance. Sorting of waste at the source is becoming more common due to financial reasons as well as government regulations. It is more expensive to process landfill waste, and authorities are demanding more precise sorting.

Proper waste management often requires the use of specialized equipment.

Waste management and recycling equipment includes custom commercial and industrial balers and compactors, vertical balers, trash compactors, drum crushers, cardboard balers, apartment compactors, multi-bin . Waste materials that will not be recycled are often compacted. This reduces the size of landfills.

Recycling facility managers need horizontal balers for a variety of needs. Whether it's balers for paper, balers for plastics, cardboard balers, waste balers, or a baler to bale textiles or Styrofoam.

Cardboard balers are also commonly found in municipal recycling facilities. A good cardboard baler can compact 20 pounds of cardboard into one cubic foot.

Cardboard balers are generally not used for plastic recycling, however, because they are much too large for the volume of plastic that is dealt with. Cardboard balers are frequently designed to form forty-eight inch tall bales (typically cardboard makes up more than 25 percent of trash generated), and they add profit to the bottom line. Cardboard often can be resold to recyclers or haulers, so installing a baler can produce revenue year after year. Cardboard balers can be vertical or horizontal.

The vertical cardboard baler is initially cheaper to purchase and install. Vertical balers have a front door that opens so that the bale can be tied off manually and removed. Some models have slots in the door so that the bale can be tied off without compromising the integrity of the bale. Vertical balers take up take up less floor space than horizontal balers and are generally used in smaller facilities that produce low amounts of waste and deal with scrap that is light in density and in volume.

Typical scrap materials that vertical balers process include old corrugated cartons, shrink wrap, non-ferrous scrap, textiles, plastic bottles and aluminum cans, with benefits in industries including health care, education, industrial manufacturing, food services and commercial.

Trash compactors can handle most waste materials safely, such as plastic, cardboard boxes, corrugated paper and general trash. However, exceptions exist and include aerosol cans, oily rags, flammable or explosive materials and poisonous materials.

So you see, there really is a basis for the old adage, "One man's trash is another man's treasure."