What Is a Waste Baler?

A waste baler is a type of heavy equipment that can be used to compress various types of waste products into a relatively small bale or bundle, making it much easier to dispose of that waste. A wide range of waste materials may be worked into a bale using this equipment, including odd sections of cardboard, foam rubber, plastic, and just about any other type of waste products that occur during a production process. Use of a waste baler not only comes in handy for compressing the waste for easy disposal, but can also help to create a secure bundle for transporting the waste to a facility where it can be repurposed or recycled.

The configuration of a waste baler will vary based on size and the type of waste materials that the company wishes to have collected and transported out of the facility. A basic design for the baler will include a collection receptacle for the waste. Once enough is collected to produce a bale, the machinery is able to encase the waste product in some type of bundle, often using cardboard or similar flexible products for this casing. Plastic or metal straps are then applied to the bale, creating a sealed package that can easily be loaded onto a truck and transported to another location.

In many instances the waste baler makes it possible to collect even small pieces or shards into a bundle for transport to a recycler. For example, this type of industrial baler could be used to collect odd pieces of textile cloth that is considered inferior quality and cannot be sold to clients, or even shards or plastic or scrap metal. While some companies use a waste baler to economically dispose of odds and ends that are of no further use in the production process, others have found that this approach is ideal for bundling leftovers from production and selling them to other companies that can repurpose or recycle the waste in some manner, effectively creating another revenue stream for the company.

Depending on the size of the business, owning a waste baler may be a cost-effective solution to the processing of leftover and waste materials gathered from the manufacturing floor. At other times, companies may choose to outsource the baling to service providers who either transport movable waste baler machinery to the site, or who collect the waste in trucks and manage the baling at their own facilities. Outsourcing is often the best option when the degree of waste generated from production is somewhat small and not sufficient to justify the cost of buying a waster baler.