When it comes to the management and disposal of cardboard and plastic recyclable waste, businesses often struggle with large volumes and high collection costs.
If you’re a business with constant deliveries then managing cardboard waste will be high on your priority list. Similarly, if you’re a business who manufactures and/or supplies commercial products of any type or size, then you are going to have to contend with large amounts of soft plastic packaging waste.
Limited storage space, time demands on employees and waste collection costs can all add up to a big headache very quickly, but especially with materials as bulky and frequently used as cardboard and plastic.
Often, plastic, and cardboard waste problems go together. In our experience here at Pioneer Group, it’s useful to talk about cardboard and plastic waste management solutions together.
In this blog, we will discuss how you should store cardboard and plastic waste, how to create a more efficient waste management system, and how you can actually make money from your cardboard and plastic waste.
Storing cardboard and plastic waste
If you want to effectively store your cardboard and plastic waste on site, then rubbish cages are an excellent solution. Cages (usually 3.0m³ in size) keep all of your loose waste in a neat container and provides a convenient waste collection point. Cages also enable businesses to segregate their waste by type, in separate bins which makes waste collection and recycling far more efficient.
That said, cages work best for customers with plenty of physical space on site and low waste volumes, unless customers with high volumes are willing to invest in baling/compacting machinery to break down bulky waste into smaller and more manageable bales.
Managing cardboard and plastic waste with baler machinery
Without a baler, your employees will constantly have to cut up and flatten boxes and plastic materials manually. This is labour intensive and can take hours, costing your business time and money. Even with the fastest employees, your business will never be able to cut down cardboard and plastic waste as efficiently as a baler machine. Balers frequently pay for themselves in a short amount of time because of the huge cost savings made on time and labour.
As a comparison, it’s helpful to note that cardboard balers when baled properly can compress cardboard at a rate of up to 6:1. Meanwhile, for plastics you could be looking at a compaction rate of around 8:1.
For customers with large volumes, waste reduction at that level is significant and makes a big difference.
But even for smaller volumes, compacted waste is much easier to transport, store and handle, so it’s much more efficient for everyone involved.
As far as collecting bales is concerned, all you have to do is store them on pallets and leave them in an accessible location for your recycler to collect.
When enough bales are ready (usually around 10) your waste provider will come with a curtain sider truck and take the bales away. Alternatively, you can negotiate and arrange your own transport of bales to your local recycle sorting facility
Potential rebates - making money from cardboard and plastic waste
Another advantage of baling cardboard is that there is potential to make money from it. Customers with higher volumes using a high-density cardboard bale weighing 400 plus kgs (such as the HSM 860 baler) can be eligible for attractive rebates from their recycled cardboard.
Once the recycler has your bales of plastic and cardboard, they sort, re-bale, and load into containers to sell on the commodities market to local as well as overseas customers.
In fact, cardboard is a very sought-after product, so you are guaranteed that it will be wanted by recycling programs. Currently roughly 90% of all recycling generated in New Zealand is collected and sent overseas and sold for profit.
Why not take advantage of greater efficiency, lower storage demands, and the opportunity to make money by investing in a cardboard and plastic baler yourself?
NZ’s best waste management equipment supplier
Get rid of your cardboard and plastic waste problem and make money with the help of New Zealand’s most trusted waste and recycling equipment supplier. Contact Pioneer Group today to get started.