How to Efficiently Deliver Your Plastics to the Recycling Station

Recycling StationPlastic revolutionized our way of life. Businesses and manufacturers applied plastic to nearly every industry imaginable. The lightness of and durability of plastic improved our packaging, our construction, and how we develop new technology. And it seems like plastic use is only heading upwards. But one downside is that not enough people recycle the plastic that they use. Major manufacturing plants in particular are hesitant to deliver their plastics to a recycling station. Many of them fear that the cost of transport may is too oppressive. But fortunately, there is a workaround. If you’re worried about the cost of your plastics, here’s how to efficiently deliver them to the recycling station.

Whether it’s helping transport plastic to the recycling station or giving other great tips, KenBay is committed to zero waste. We offer a wide range of compactors to you for plastic and other kinds of waste. For more information, visit our website.

Off to the Recycling Station . . . But How?

The Problem with Transport

The biggest concern among manufacturers is the cost of transporting plastics. Plastic tends to expand, and doesn’t like bending from its original shape. That expansion means filling up more space on the freight truck, which then leads to a greater number of trips. Trips that you pay for, every time. Many companies attempt to cut down on these trips through compacting their plastic waste. But there’s still a problem with using something like a baler.

The Problems With Balers

Plastic wrap tends to “bounce back” or regain some of its original shape, even during a compaction process. Most balers don’t have the ability to continuously compact the waste without resorting to additional specialized equipment. They also can’t compact the plastic quickly enough to stifle the bounce back effect. As a result, the baler fills too quickly and compacts a smaller amount of plastic.

What’s the Better Solution?

The best solution is to forget using the baler and instead rely on a dependable compactor. Ideally, a compactor should feature a quick continuously rotating arm. Thus, the machine presses the plastic down so quickly and frequently it won’t have time to bounce back. Adding some heat will also help the process. Once you compact the plastic, store it inside an easily stackable bag. Now, more bags fit onto the truck, which means fewer overall trips to the recycling station. That’s where the savings come from!

KenBay Helps Your Plastics Get There

Plastics will play a major role in our effort towards renewable energy, but not if we don’t recycle them properly. One of the best ways to recycle your plastic is through our RotoPacs. RotoPacs not only are safe, easy, and offer continuous compaction, they deliver even more! They’re portable and very easy to move around your facility. You can put them right at the source of your plastic waste. That way, you  reduce clutter and improve overall safety even further. If you would like to try out a KenBay RotoPac for yourself, you can try one before you buy one. Simply pay a small fee and we’ll send one to your location. Best of all, there’s no complicated process if you want to keep it for life. Simply pay the rest of the full price, and it’s yours!

3 Secrets About Shrink Wrap You Never Knew

Shrink WrapShrink wrap is a prevalent material used across many industries. You’ll find in your grocery stores, and wrapping entire pallets full of shipments. Unfortunately, most of this stretchy, filmy, sticky plastic that can be somewhat of a nuisance ends up going straight into the trash – 95% of it to be precise. That’s a lot of plastic going to our landfills, and in certain industries it gets to be a voluminous waste stream accounting for tens of cubic yards a week, meaning multiple dumpsters full of the stuff. Without making a concerted effort to separate shrink wrap out from the rest of your waste, it’s a loss as opposed to something that could be an added revenue stream for your business.

3 Things About Shrink Wrap

  1. It’s Recyclable
    It doesn’t occur to many people that shrink wrap is actually recyclable since it doesn’t have the token recycle tag on it that has trained us to know what goes in the blue bin. The fact is that there are many businesses that will gladly buy your shrink wrap and recycle it. Any amount of shrink wrap is worth recycling if just to make more space in your waste cans, and reduce your hauling costs even by a little. If you want to learn more about how you might actually save money by recycling your shrink wrap here are some measurements that will make it easier:1 gaylord = 40 cubic feet = 1.5 cubic yards
    40 gaylords = 1600 cubic feet = 60 cubic yards
    60 cubic yards = 6 ten-yard dumpsters

Perform an audit to figure out what your weekly totals of shrink wrap waste are and then subtract that from your hauling bill and you will determine how much you could be saving by recycling it as opposed to sending to the landfill.

  • Keep it Clean and Separate
    In order to recycle shrink wrap, you need to keep it separate from the rest of your waste. Since most shrink wrap waste is created in unpacking, be sure that those employees have separate bins for it. Most recycling firms want shrink wrap to be both clean and have all the labels removed in order for them to buy it back from you. Once removed from packaging the shrink wrap should be immediately placed in a waste bin to reduce the chance of its picking up dust, which will happen quickly as it is a sticky plastic.
  • You Don’t Need a New Baler for Shrink Wrap
    If you already use a baler for something like cardboard and have enough shrink wrap waste to bale, the good news is that you don’t need to buy a new baler to start recycling this as well. If you generate between 2,000 and 4,000 pounds per month a 42-yard compactor will do the job you need to be done. It will take about 20 gaylords of shrink wrap to fill it up the compactor to make one bale.

If you are creating tons of shrink wrap waste a month it is definitely worth contacting a company like KenBay to learn more about what kind of baler you need to start recycling your shrink wrap. We can also help you get connected with the right people who will gladly recycle this waste product for you.