Most commonly found in agricultural industries, balers are traditionally used to create hay bales – a sight that we are all familiar with in farms and fields. However, you can also get them for your commercial business. Balers can help you keep on top of your waste by compacting materials into a tight sphere or square, making it easy to transport as well as being more space-efficient.
We can see why this concept would be popular, especially as we all know how helpful having vacuum packed goods can be. Baling performs very similarly to vacuum packing, with the end result being compacted goods that can be easily taken from A to B, whether by hand or by vehicle.
In addition, you should most definitely consider getting an industrial baler if your business generates a lot of waste, which most likely it does. Every business will generate some form of waste, whether that is from food and drinks packaging or paper and miscellaneous items. Furthermore, it has been estimated that in fact businesses underestimate how much waste they produce which ultimately leads to poor waste management systems. With this in mind, having an industrial baler would be a worthy purchase, helping you organise and manage the amount of waste you produce and, in future, reducing it.
This blog post will detail the reasons as to why you should consider getting an industrial baler for your business. Furthermore, it will illustrate as to how it can help you in future, whether that is reducing your waste production or reducing your expenditure on costly landfill tax.
How do industrial balers work?
Industrial balers are typically smaller than the balers used in the agricultural industry. They are made from steel and they operate with a hydraulic component to compress the material. They can suit both large and small volumes of plastic, paper, scrap cloth, foil, cans and other materials. The material is compressed into a dense cube that is tied with a thick wire when pushed out of the machine – allowing for easy handling and manoeuvring.
Two Ram Baler – A two ram baler consists of two cylinders that are able to bundle and package most commodities apart from cardboard and clear film. This is the perfect industrial baler if your business deals with, and disposes of, bulky materials.
Single Ram Baler – This baler consists of one cylinder rather than two. This baler is smaller and best for small and medium types of waste.
Closed Door Baler – This baler is specifically designed for the compacting of clear plastic film.
American Baler – This baler is also specifically designed for compacting and baling corrugated materials.
Helps you keep on top of your paper recycling
Every micro and macro business will most definitely create plenty of paper waste. From scrap pieces to important documents, keeping our paper files organised isn’t as easy as one would think. Especially as paper, as a material, is quite fragile in comparison to other materials being both flammable and permeable to water. Plus, as it is quite flimsy and thin, it’s easy to lose bits of paper; we have all been there, whether it’s rooting through a bag for a shopping list or turning your home upside down for that one crucial document.
Having a baler could almost certainly help you and your business keep on top of the amount of paper you produce, reducing clutter and also helping you recycle the paper. According to research conducted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, from recycling one tonne of paper, you could save up to 17 trees, 7000 gallons of water and 463 gallons of oil from paper production. Plus, in the process of recycling paper, a baler is used at the recycling centre. Therefore, with this in mind, having an industrial baler on site can be more time efficient as the paper won’t need to be sorted and it can be taken to a mill straight away.
To also improve the way that you recycle your paper, make sure that you sort your paper into five basic paper categories before you bale the paper. The five basic categories are as follows:
Old Corrugated Containers – Often known as corrugated cardboard, this is used for cardboard boxes and product packaging.
Mixed Paper – This is a broad category of paper that includes things like letters, catalogues, magazines, and phone books.
Old Newspapers – Make sure to recycle your old Guardians, Daily Mails, Independents and Metros. Mills use newspapers to make more newsprint, tissue, and other products.
High-Grade Deinking Paper – This is a high-quality type of paper that has been used to have print or ink on.
Pulp Substitutes – This is usually discarded scrap from mills
Implements a good waste management system
Making your business more environmentally friendly is crucial in the current world. We are increasingly become more eco-conscious and implementing a good waste management system is imperative for your business taking green steps. The UK government is placing more and more pressure on businesses to tackle their waste in a green way, plus coupled with escalating landfill taxes, now more than ever, you need to make eco-ethos a priority.
Having a baler will most certainly help keep on top of your waste. It will streamline your waste meaning that no cross-contamination occurs and that it is easier to recycle your goods. Furthermore, it is a cost-effective purchase, meaning that you can save money on landfill tax as well as the hiring of skips. As mentioned above, the UK government is becoming stricter on how we handle and deal with our waste. Regulations are tightening over the separation of waste streams as cross-contamination of recyclates becomes the norm – which means that it is harder for the materials to be recycled. Therefore, if your business does not have an effective way to organise your waste, meaning that cross-contamination occurs, you could be subjected to fines. A baler is an effective and simple way to ensure that this doesn’t happen.
If you are concerned about the cost of balers, there are many affordable solutions. You can purchase second-hand refurbished balers or you can rent a baler if you need one for only a short period of time, like if you are moving business premises. In addition, having a baler could even generate some extra revenue for your business.For example, having uncontaminated piles of waste means that you can sell it on to recycling companies.
From workbooks to essays and art projects, there is no denying that paper is a lifeblood for schools. From being a key material in the production of work, as well as a way to show information, paper has become key to learning. But when you think about how much is used per day, it must be a staggering and eye-watering statistic on how much paper is used and ultimately just thrown away annually.
Having a baler, whether permanent or rented, is a great way to help organise your school’s paper management. Furthermore, balers are also a great way to compress plastic, another daily material that is consumed in its hundredths and thousandths in schools daily. Not only will this help the school save money on landfill costs, as well as waste collection and disposal costs, it will also promote an eco way of thinking to the students, equipping them with environmentally friendly mindsets that they can take with them into the future.
How it can help your supermarket
The spotlight of waste shaming has frequently shone upon supermarkets, especially as they are known for unnecessarily over-packaging their products. A frequent visit down the supermarket aisles and you will be confronted with glinting plastic-covered vegetables, herbs, meats and cheeses. And whilst some of these need to be wrapped to preserve them from being contaminated, the majority of this is unnecessary. Reports from The Guardian have estimated that supermarkets create nearly one million tonnes of plastic waste per year. These revelations are an increasing public concern for how much single-use plastic affects our environment from taking centuries to degrade, to leaking harmful chemicals into waters and soils.
Therefore, it is imperative that supermarkets are leading figures in reducing their plastic waste and increasing their plastic recycling. And, having a baler could be the perfect first step. Furthermore, you can sell your plastic bales for higher prices as recycled plastic is becoming a more in-demand material.
Devon Contract Waste: Commercial Waste Disposal and Recycling Specialists in the South West
Here at Devon Contract Waste, we specialise in providing an effective environmentally friendly waste management solution for businesses across the South West. From Cornwall to Somerset, Devon Contract Waste can help supply containers as well as educating businesses on organising their waste types.
Our expert team at Devon Contract Waste proudly operates a Zero to Landfill objective, ensuring that all waste is recycled and none ends up further damaging our precious planet. Furthermore, it creates more jobs in the manufacturing industries creating a sustainable business community.
We offer a variety of different equipment that your business can utilise in helping to streamline its waste management systems, from baling to skips. Contact us today to find out more.