Recycle Cardboard with a Baler
Do you recycle lots of cardboard from your stockroom? If you really want to help the environment, avoid using a dumpster for cardboard collection, as 2.5 pounds of diesel air pollution are generated for each dumpster emptied. You can own a down stroke baler, which compacts 20 pounds of cardboard per cubic foot of baled material, for the same price as an eight cubic yard dumpster that is emptied once per week. See Step 1 below to find, choose, and buy a baler to recycle your cardboard.
Contents
Steps
- Search the internet for balers. A major search engine like Google and Yahoo! is a good place to start.
- Choose a baler that packs 20 pounds of cardboard per cubic foot of baled material. This reduces collection by 50% which means 50% less air pollution. Also, the bales are 50% smaller than same weight bales of 10 pounds per cubic foot, which means less storage space required.
- The baler should not require your employees to pre flatten the boxes to get maximum bale weight. Find the baler that can crush whole boxes within boxes - it saves time.
- Get a baler on wheels for portability in the stockroom. You will be glad it has wheels when the day for stockroom reorganization comes.
- Make sure it's powered from any 115 volt A.C. outlet. No electrician should be required. This saves money, and relocation is easy by using an extension cord specified or supplied by the manufacturer.
- No mechanic should be required to install the baler...This also saves money.
- The baler should fit through a standard door, so that there's no need to build expensive, larger doors.
- Look for soft bale strapping on a roll, for tying off the bales of cardboard, not steel wire (which cause injuries from sharp pointy ends).
- Bales should tie off from the front of the baler, without the need to go behind the baler. This saves floor space and time.
- Find a baler that takes 60 seconds to tie off a bale and eject it from the baler manually. Powered bale eject systems are less safe and the larger balers require 10 to 15 minutes to tie off and eject.
- Verify that it makes no more than 80 pounds per bale, or you will need special handling equipment.
- Choose a small size with big performance. Baler floor space required should be kept to a minimum to free up stockroom space.
- A feed door opening of about {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} by {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} will work for 75% of all box sizes. The remaining 25% do not justify a larger, more expensive baler. Just stomp on the two apposing sides of the larger boxes and they will fit into the baler.
- Look for a cycle time of 15 seconds down to crush a load of boxes and 15 seconds to return the crushing plate back up. During that time, the employee is collecting the next batch of boxes.
Tips
- If you want larger bales, you can shrink wrap twelve 80 pound bales on top of a wood pallet for bulk handling 1,000 pounds at a time.
- It’s easier to stack small bales on top of each other than larger bales. Stacking 4 bales high is very important if stockroom space is precious. Stick with the smaller, more powerful balers.
- Don't get talked into a larger baler. A 150 pound bale or 350 lb bale still has only 10 pounds per cubic foot and will require special handling Obtain Equipment Lease Money.
- Remember, at 20 pounds of cardboard per cubic foot, these bales are 50% smaller than regular bales of 10 pounds per cubic foot.
- Avoid roll off compactors...Their transport causes 8 pounds of air pollution for every {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of travel.
Warnings
- Make sure that the people who will be working with the baler are properly trained and take the necessary precautions. Improper use of the baler or the bales may result in serious injury.
