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WASTE RECYCLING CONSIDERATIONS AND EQUIPMENT for
MANUFACTURING AND GENERAL INDUSTRIAL

 

 

(For More Information Read the Article Below the Equipment - Material Table)

	Waste & Recycling Equipment Category	Brief Description / Typical Application	Main Material Classes (Select the materials below for additional information)
	Bin Compactors	Can be fed manually, by conveyor or air system	Mixed Trash	Recyclables
	38 Yard Self Contained Compactor	Outdoor Compactor hauled directly to the landfill	Mixed Trash
	Pre-Crushers	Bulky Materials are easily crushed	Bulky Trash
	Single Stream Self Contained Compactors (with Two Compartments)	Large volume generators such as manufacturing facilities can use one dual compartment compactor for processing both Recyclables and non-recyclables	Recyclables and Mixed Trash
	Compacting Dumpsters - 6 Yd Front & Rear Load	Outdoor Compacting Dumpsters are tipped onsite by Haulers	Mixed Trash	Wet Waste
	Economy Cardboard Baler - 60” High Density	Up to 900 pound bales of Cardboard	Cardboard	Shrink Wrap
	High Density 60" Vertical Baler	Great for Shredded  ONP - Paper	Newsprint
	Lamp / Bulb Crusher	For crushing Fluorescent Bulbs	Bulbs only
	Stationary Compactors	For larger volumes of dry wastes such as compacting cardboard	Dry Waste
	Super High Volume 60” Baler with Conveyor	Conveyor adds tremendous efficiency for large volumes of recyclables such as PET and more	PET	Cans	HPDE
	Mega Baler	Great for huge bales of tougher materials	Metals	Core Tubes	Other
	Bottle Can Balers – Vertical & Horizontal	Bottles can balers will extract the liquids in the bottles and cans while also crushing	PET Bottles	Aluminum Cans
	Grinders and Shredders	Almost any material is a candidate for a grinder or shredder for size reduction	Varied
	Horizontal Balers	Large range of materials and capacity	Varies

Much focus is placed on manufacturing facilities reusing materials that have been recycled by others.  However, manufacturing facilities can more than double their impact on the environment by also recycling materials that they use.  Much of the waste stream is made up of recyclable materials.  The waste profile for manufacturing companies is generally in the range of 20% cardboard, 35% paper, 25% plastic, 6% metal and 14% other.  As far as volume, manufacturing facilities with 100 to 399 employees generate 3 pounds of waste per day per person. Manufacturing facilities with 400 to 1,000 employees generate approximately 7 pounds of waste per day per employee.  Much of this waste including metals, plastic, and paper can all be recycled and recovered.

Analyze your Waste Stream and Establish a Recycling Team and Program

The first step to recycling is to establish a recycling team.  This team should initially meet to discuss a plan of action to analyze the manufacturing facilities waste stream.  What is being thrown away? Where is it generated from? How can it be captured instead of being thrown away? Once it is being captured, determine how much is being generated / captured.  During the initial meeting, assign areas and tasks to the team and put a game plan into action for analyzing the waste stream. 

Place appropriate recycling containers and/or equipment at these generation points and label them appropriately. Recycling containers can be small or large. For example, if you are capturing newspaper in a break room or offices, use a small recycling container close to the source of generation.  If you are capturing a large amount of cardboard (OCC), aluminum cans, etc, you may want to consider balers, compactors, and stationary compactors.

Contact recyclers for information and cost / payment for picking up your recyclable materials.  Or, consider processing them and reusing them in your own facility.

Once you have stationed the containers and setup recycling companies for pickup, it's time to educate the remainder of your employees.  Make them aware of your recycling program and what is expected of them.  Give incentives to employees for their ideas and their participation. Getting employees excited and involved is a key element in a successful recycling program.

Recycling Cardboard (OCC) and Paper in Your Manufacturing Facility

Since approximately 20% of the waste generated in a Manufacturing facility is cardboard and 25% is paper, it can be very lucrative to remove and reuse or recycle the cardboard and paper. 

First, determine the volume of cardboard and paper you generate.  To do this, remove the paper and cardboard from the waste stream as it is generated instead of throwing it away.  Consolidate the cardboard and paper (separately) either by compacting or baling it, or just by putting it in a holding area until you can determine how much you generate.  Call your waste hauler to determine what size of bales they require.  Most haulers require 30" or 60" bales. Vertical balers come in different sizes and produce different size bales.  There are 30" balers, 60" balers, 72" balers, etc.  Determine which size baler you need and then make your purchase. Start baling your cardboard and paper for pickup and therefore removing it from your waste stream.

Some things you should find out from your waste hauler or other haulers you are considering for picking up your cardboard are:

• Whether the recycling company / hauler will pick up loose sheets or if they require baling
• The size of cardboard bales they require
• The minimum and maximum number of cardboard bales they require before picking up
• The price for different levels of service (per pickup, volume, etc.)
• Contamination restrictions

Recycling Plastic in Your Manufacturing Facility

Each ton of plastic bottles that are recycled saves about 3.8 barrels of oil!  Since 25% of a manufacturing facilities waste is plastic, the manufacturing industry is generating a substantial amount of plastic. 

The resin numbering system makes it easy to recycle plastic.  You can find out what types of plastics are accepted at your local recycling center.  Currently, most recycling centers only accept containers labeled with 1 and 2 (which represent about 96% of all the plastic bottles and containers used in the U.S.).  These should be sorted and caps removed before they can be recycled.

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For a quick overview of Waste Reduction & Recycling Tips for Manufacturing Facilities, click here

For assistance in determining the best approach for your particular facility, email WasteCare Corporation at sales@wastecare.com and in addition to your contact information, let us know the approximate volume of trash being hauled from your facility each week or month and the approximate waste hauling cost each month and we will be glad to give you some suggestions.

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