Cardboard balers: the complete buying and renting guide
A whole array of benefits can be achieved by using a cardboard baler to crush waste cardboard.
In this guide we look at all you need to know about buying or renting a cardboard baler.
The benefits of a cardboard baler
If your business is producing waste cardboard and using bins to dispose of it, then it is almost certain that your business will benefit from installing a cardboard baler.
It is not very often that you pay less and get a better product and a better solution but with a cardboard baler this is the case.
To put it simply, a cardboard baler will do four things for you that bins cannot…
Lower your waste costs.
Save space on site.
Save time on cardboard waste handling.
Improve your green credentials.
You can also guarantee yourself a quality engineered product, which costs less than the common recycling bin.
There are few factors which determine what size of baler you require. The first consideration is the amount of cardboard waste you are generating which can be calculated by the number of skips and bins you have. The second is the size of the boxes you handle the most. You want a cardboard baler with a feed opening the same size as your largest box. This means you can open the door, pop the box in, close the door and the baler does the flat packing for you. You may have low or medium waste volumes but have large boxes for recycling. In this case we recommend a baler with a large loading door so that boxes can be placed inside the baler entirely. The third consideration is the space you have and the location you wish to site the baler. If space is tight or perhaps you are looking to free up valuable space for other uses then a small compact baler would be ideal.
Our best advice is to contact us for a free site survey and we can quickly establish which size of cardboard baler is the correct one for your business.
Where to store your baler
It is a common misconception is that recycling balers are huge monsters of equipment when actually cardboard balers have a small footprint. With cardboard being a voluminous waste type, normally more than one bin or one very large skip is required. A cardboard baler can also be kept inside or outside depending on where you generate the cardboard waste. For example, if your stock room is where the cardboard waste is created then in the stock room is where you want to position your baler. Locating a baler next to the waste source means staff have a short walk to dispose of the cardboard and as balers can handle whole boxes, there is absolutely no requirement to flat pack any cardboard. Bins are normally located outside in a waste area, away from the workspace. This requires a longer walk and in order to exploit space in bins, flat packing is virtually a necessity. These both waste time. Much more time can be devoted to the job itself if the burden of waste handling is taken away by a cardboard baler.
How much does a bale of cardboard weigh?
Bale weight depends on the size of baler the bale is being created in. A smaller baler will produce smaller bales which will weigh less. Our small 102 baler produces cardboard bales of around 20-40kg. A medium sized baler like our H4 waste baler will create cardboard bales weighing up to 140kg and a Mill size baler yields bales around 500kg which are optimal size for recycling and have potential to earn rebates.
How to store baled cardboard
Ideally baled cardboard will be stored in a dry area ready to be collected by a local recycler. Stacking bales will help maximise the amount you are able to store before collection which will also help reduce your carbon footprint and CO2 emissions. Recyclers will collect smaller volumes of bales if you don’t have the capacity to store a lot of bales, but they may have a minimum collection volume that you need to meet.
Vertical or horizontal baler
Vertical balers have a small footprint and are the most common option mainly because of their flexibility and size options. For most companies, a vertical baler fulfils their recycling requirements and helps save money on waste. A horizontal baler is recommended for much higher volume users like supermarkets, wholesalers, manufacturers, logistics centres and multi product recycling plants. Those who produce a lot of recyclable materials will benefit from hopper or conveyor feed options available on horizontal balers.
Deciding between and vertical and horizontal baler is determined by several factors like the amount of waste going through the baler, location and space, operational requirements and budget.
We have an extensive range of cardboard balers and compactors for sale and rental to suit every business requirement. Our best advice is to contact us for a free site survey and we can quickly establish which size of cardboard baler is the perfect one for your business.
Talk to the experts at QCR – we’ve got what you need to reduce your waste costs.
01242 620903
