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| Overview: | Waste pulpers are used to process a variety of solid wastes, primarily portions of the food service waste stream. Waste pulpers grind up organic matter, such as food scraps, cardboard, and paper, with water and then extract most of the moisture to produce a dry, organic pulp. Waste pulpers are available in capacities ranging from 250 lbs./hr to 4,000 lbs./hr. and can reduce the volume of wastes by up to 70 to 85% (depending on the type of pulper used). This can reduce waste, transportation and disposal costs. The dry pulp that is produced is often in a form that can be used for animal feed or composting. Dry pulp can be easily mixed with traditional feed materials, such as urea and corn. Reuse of the pulp product will result in an added reduction of disposal costs. Note: the use of dry pulp requires that the food wastes be segregated from paper and cardboard packaging materials prior to processing.
Waste pulpers are currently employed at numerous facilities across the nation, including educational facilities, restaurants, hotels, health care facilities, corporate dining operations, casinos, cruise ship lines, correctional facilities, manufacturing plants, in-flight kitchens, and municipal/industrial wastewater treatment plants. Although waste pulpers have primarily been used for food service wastes, they also are adaptable to other types of solid wastes, such as biological sludges, pulp and paper mill sludges, textile mill sludges, and cattle and dairy waste solids. Military applications may be appropriate in military base eating facilities and aboard ships. Waste pulpers aboard ships often are used to process food, paper and cardboard wastes prior to disposal. Shipboard waste pulpers use seawater to produce the slurry mixture. They are effective at reducing the volume of wastes and can improve on-board health, safety, and sanitation.
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| Compliance Benefit: | A waste pulper processes the organic components of solid waste for reuse or recycling and therefore, helps facilities meet the requirements under Executive Order 13101 requiring executive agencies (e.g. DOD) to incorporate waste prevention and recycling in their daily operations.
A waste pulper, will increase electricity and water consumption. Under EO 12902, federal facilities are required to reduce energy consumption and implement water conservation projects. The compliance benefits listed here are only meant to be used as a general guideline and are not meant to be strictly interpreted. Actual compliance benefits will vary depending on the factors involved, e.g. the amount of workload involved.
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| Materials Compatibility: | No materials compatibility issues were identified.
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| Safety and Health: | Food waste collection facilities have the potential for rodent/pest infestation, foul odor, and unsightly conditions. Although waste pulping systems reduce the potential for rodent and insect problems (since the wastes are washed with water and then compacted), the owner or operator should properly maintain the equipment and perform all work in a sanitary environment. Consult your local industrial health specialist and your local health and safety personnel prior to implementing this technology.
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| Economic Analysis: | The following cost analysis is based on Hobart’s WS-800 pulping unit. This system consists of a pulper, water extractor, valves and an electrical control panel. The capacity of this system is 700 lbs/hr. The pulping system is compared to a 4-hp food waste disposer. The food waste disposer requires the manual separation of approximately 15% of solid waste from the food waste. For the economic analysis presented below, the manual separation required by the disposer system requires an additional 2 hours of labor per day. The pulping system is capable of processing that portion of solid waste without the need for additional labor.
Assumptions:
Annual Operating Cost Comparison of Waste Pulper and Food Disposer
Economic Analysis Summary
Capital Cost for Diversion Equipment/Process: $23,000 Payback Period for Investment in Equipment/Process: < 2 years Click Here to view an Active Spreadsheet for this Economic Analysis and Enter Your Own Values.
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| Approving Authority: | Approval is controlled locally and should be implemented only after engineering approval has been granted. Major claimant approval is not required.
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