 |
|
||||||||||||
| Overview: | Balers are machines that compact and bind recyclable materials. A baler uses a hydraulic ram to compact material into a box shape. Compressed bales are then secured with wires. A baler can process paper, cardboard, corrugated boxes, tin or aluminum cans, plastics, or large metal components into dense stackable bales. The bales reduce space required for storage and transportation, and can be moved with a forklift. There is a wide range of sizes for balers. Recycling facilities from small military bases to high volume municipal waste recovery facilities use them to prepare recyclable materials for market. Some recyclables must be baled or a buyer will not accept them.
Balers may be fed by a gravity feeder, a mechanical conveyor, or an air feed system. If the operation calls for the use of the same baler to bale more than one material type, the baler must be specifically designed to handle different materials at different ranges of capacity. Tying bales with wire can be manual or automatic. The number, size, and tension of the baling wires must be adequate for the particular material baled. Throughput capacity for a typical baler is 20 tons per day. A baler produces no new waste streams. The primary effect this technology has on pollution prevention is to increase the ease of handling, marketability, and value of the recycled commodity. It does not have a direct effect on the amount of materials recycled.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Compliance Benefit: | Balers prepare recyclables for market
and therefore, help to meet the directives of Executive Order (EO) 13101
requiring executive agencies (e.g., Department of Defense) to incorporate waste prevention and
recycling into their daily operations. Use of balers may increase the use of electricity at the
facility. Under EO 13123, facilities are required to reduce energy consumption.
In addition, quantities of hydraulic fluid associated with the use of balers
may increase a facility's need to comply with SARA (40 CFR 355, 370)
and EO 13148 reporting requirements as well as spill plan requirements under
40 CFR 112.
The compliance benefits listed here are only meant to be used as general guidelines 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.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Materials Compatibility: |
No materials compatibility issues were identified.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Safety and Health: | Safety issues deal with the operation of
power equipment. Operators should be trained to use the baler and exercise caution to keep limbs, clothing, and hair
from being caught up in the hydraulic rams or feed hoppers. Machinery should not be used if workers are on medication. Consult your local industrial health specialist, your local health and safety personnel, and the appropriate MSDS prior to implementing this technology. For work performed in California, Title 14 of CCR Section 17512 requires daily cleaning of equipment, including balers, at transfer and processing stations to prevent unsanitary conditions. Other states may have similar regulations.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Benefits: |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Disadvantages: |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Economic Analysis: | Typical application: closed-end horizontal, manual tying baler with a capacity of less than 20 tons/day; capital costs range from $37,000 to $50,000; operating costs include labor (offset by labor savings from increased efficiency in material handling), electrical costs ($0.055 per kwhr), and minimal upkeep ($750 per year).
Alternate application: open-end horizontal, automatic tying baler with a capacity of more than 20 tons/day: capital costs range from $75,000 to $150,000; operating costs include labor (offset by labor savings from increased efficiency in material handling), electrical costs ($ 0.055 per kwhr), and minimal upkeep ($1,000 per year). Assumptions:
Table 1. Annual Operating Cost Comparison for a Recycling Operation with a Baler and a Recycling Operation Alone
Economic Analysis Summary:
Click Here
to view an Active Spreadsheet for this Economic Analysis
and Enter Your Own Values. |
NSN/MSDS: | None identified.
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| Approving Authority: | Appropriate authority for making process changes should always
be sought prior to procuring or implementing any of the technologies identified herein. |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Points of Contact: | For more information |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Vendors: | This is not meant to be a complete
list, as there may be other manufacturers of this type of
equipment. Balemaster 980 Crown Court Crown Point, IN 46307 Phone: (219) 663-4525 FAX: (219) 663-4591
Enterprise Baler Company
Allegheny Paper Shredders Corporation
Harris Waste Management Group (Mosley Machinery) |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Links: |
Horizontal Baler
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sources: | Mr. Hugh Rue, Edwards Air Force Base, March 1999. U.S. EPA, Handbook, Material Recovery Facilities for Municipal Solid Waste, USEPA, EPA/625/6-91/031. |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Supplemental: |
Picture of Solid Waste Baler/Conveyors
|