Purchasing a commercial trash compactor is often a necessary decision that needs to be reached when planning a facility or up-scaling operations. Several factors need to be addressed and resolved when finding the right commercial trash compactor for a facilities’ specific needs. The following will attempt to answer some of the more commonly asked questions regarding commercial and industrial waste and trash compactors.
How much does a commercial trash compactor cost?
A good place to start answering questions about costs is understanding what you are paying to collect and remove the trash from your facility now. They are:
- What is the nature of the trash?
- How much trash is produced each week/month
- How much are you paying the company hauling your trash
- How will the waste be collected and brought to the compactor
- What percent of the trash do you expect to re-cycle
- What is your expected ROI
Purchasing a commercial compactor is often a necessary decision that needs to be reached when planning a facility or up-scaling operation. The KenBay Industrial Rotary Compactor may not be the best fit for some large-scale applications. Still, if you are hoping to put a highly efficient waste compactor right at the source of the waste, it is worth looking into.
What can you put in a commercial trash compactor?
Typically, materials and objects to be recycled, such as cardboard and cardboard boxes, and the various types of bags, whether plastic or paper, are profitably compacted. If it is content having no value that is to be disposed of, it can be nearly anything one normally sends to a dump. Exceptions are items too large for any commercially available compactors, non-compactable materials such as metal objects, and all types of liquids.
A careful study of your facility’s objectives can usually give an adequate idea of what compactor size you’ll need due to the waste stream generated when the facility is fully operational. Many mid-sized and large facilities trust the KenBay RotoPac industrial compactor to minimize waste directly where it is being produced. Whether it’s plastic bottles, cardboard, styrofoam, toxic paint, used dairy containers, or other easily manipulated materials, the RotoPac is always up for the task.
Are trash compactors worth the money?
The simple answer is “yes” if one has a compactor that reduces the volume of a sufficient amount of trash such that its monthly hauling costs are less than the monthly amortizable cost of the compactor. Another consideration in making the compactor worth the money is that labor costs getting the trash to the compactor are reduced instead of collecting it inside the facility then hauling it to a dumpster before it is compacted. The KenBay RotoPac has a small footprint so that it can be located in a facility near the largest source of the trash being produced. The trash is then compacted before it is hauled to a dumpster for disposal.
Most RAM and other large-scale industrial compactor sit outside or occupy a full loading dock taking up critical space. If they sit outside, their life span will probably be shortened due to the elements’ interference. If they are inside and take up dock space, that is the room you could be put to better use.
A compactor that sits on your facility floor can be moved with a simple hand truck if necessary can ideal in most facilities. And if your industrial compactor has an on-average 6-to-1 compaction ratio, like the RotoPac, then you are saving money by reducing foot traffic needed to clear waste off the production floor.
How is a commercial trash compactor emptied?
The process to empty the container can of the typical large commercial trash compactor is that of the hauling firm using a truck with a hydraulic lift to load the container can, then hauling it to a dump or transfer station. Once there, the rear side of the can is opened, and with the hydraulic lift on the truck, the can is tilted such that the trash falls out. Then the truck hauls the container back to the facility where it was loaded when filled.
The beauty of the KenBay RotoPac is that since it compacts trash into a sealed plastic bag that sits on a standard-sized pallet, the trash generated can be easily moved and stacked into the hauler’s trailer with a forklift.
How does a commercial trash compactor work?
The most common type of commercial trash compactors uses a ram to move the trash into a container can. Container cans are large metal containers that one sees behind many retail stores. However, the ram only projects less than a foot into the attached can, so it actually only compacts trash once the can is beginning to fill. Other trash compactors using container cans compact the trash with an auger that then passes the waste into a container can.
Another type of trash compactor is the industrial rotary trash compactor. It compacts the waste into a bulk plastic bag by a high torque rotating and sweeping metal drum. This type of compactor has a small footprint, so it can be placed inside a facility where the trash is being generated. In that way, the trash is compacted before it is transported anywhere, and usually, with a forklift to the filled bags can be stacked to reduce hauling cost greatly.
Unless your compactor is continually removing your waste’s memory, even while crushing added trash, then you may not be getting your money’s worth. The KenBay RotoPac is unique in its constantly rotating drum head continually removes any bounce-back. This is instrumental in delivering a high compaction ratio as well as a great ROI.
How long does a trash compactor last?
Many factors come into play when asking how long a commercial trash compactor will last:
- Is it an indoor or outdoor compactor?
- How well will it handle corrosive or toxic materials?
- Does it work seamlessly with conveyors or pneumatic feeding devices?
- Is it serviced regularly?
- Is it cleaned regularly?
Some industrial compactors which exist in punishing environments won’t last more than half a decade. The KenBay Stainless Steel RotoPac has proven itself reliable for decades in seafaring environments in which corrosive saltwater air would normally make the compactor quickly inoperable.
Do trash compactors need special bags?
Your run-of-the-mill industrial RAM compactors do not use bags. Several environments that find it advantageous to utilize compactors to compact trash into bags are ocean vessels, ingredient and food-producing areas, and where hazardous waste is being produced. In these instances, special bags are used on ships for ease of remove trash from them. In food areas, large polyethylene is utilized so it is easily sealed to prevent odors from escaping from the trash. Special UN-rated bags are used for transporting hazardous waste. However, much of the trach produced can place in polyethylene bulk gas.
Having an industrial compactor indoors and using it for liquids or any food waste odor makes it necessary to have a sealed bag. KenBay offers several different polyethylene plastic bags that can be easily sealed and stacked, and put aside until enough waste is generated to necessitate a call to a hauler and schedule a pickup.
In conclusion, if your facilities’ waste stream makes it so voluminous that it gets in the way of your production schedule or hampers worker safety, you’ll need to make the right decision regarding purchasing the right commercial waste compactor. Just remember, there different types of compactors and balers for crushing waste, but not everyone is right for your application.
