Did you know that according to 2017 figures, about 46% of municipal waste in the EU is recycled or composted?
We use balers to minimise waste and compress recyclable materials. We compact these recyclable items into dense, more manageable bales for transporting recycled materials.
Materials that are generally baled include aluminium, carton, paper, non-ferrous metals and all types of plastics.
However, before you start baling materials, you must have an idea of the materials that can endure the whole baling process.
Are you looking for a recycling baler but are unsure what recycled materials you can use? Our guide explains everything you need to know.
Baled Recycled Materials
Recyclable products are often collected in two ways. We use kerbside ‘sort’ systems in which the recyclables get thrown into their respective product bin.
Not to state the obvious but, after recycling the reusable products above, whatever remains is proper rubbish.
Many businesses and households will put this out for collection by municipal or private garbage collectors.
That collection by municipal or private garbage collectors is of all mixed rubbish, which is then taken to the processing facility and sorted.
After sorting the remaining garbage is taken to landfills for disposal.
They will process all mixed recycling at the manufacturing plant and divide it into various categories of materials.
They do this by hand or machine, or both until it’s shipped to the suppliers that turn it into new items.
Recycled items are processed and sorted and become valuable commodities in the global market.
1. Products Made Of Paper
Paper, which covers everything from junk mail and advertising material to newspaper, represents 33% of the municipal waste volume.
Paper is also one of the most recycled items. By recycling one tonne of paper, we are saving 17 trees, 1,7 tonnes of oil, 27 tonnes of water, and according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Any commodity we bale that is from paper, such as comics, books, magazines, cartons, or even newspapers, is recyclable.
The paper composition makes it vulnerable to the crushing procedure that the baling process provides.
Cardboard, which is originally in the shape of paper boards, can go through the folding process.
The new folding process could shape these cardboard boxes into new ones and used for many uses.
Newspapers catch air between their pages, and baling significantly reduces this extra air weight through compression.
2. Paper Cartons
Food and drinking cartons are one of the most convenient products available. They are primarily made from paper, a natural resource from well-maintained forests.
As a lightweight product solution, cartons have a low environmental impact.
Two types of cartons are available:
- Shelf-stable – consists of an average of 74 per cent paper, 22 per cent nylon, and 4 per cent aluminium. These are on supermarket shelves and used for water, milk, juice, beans, soups, wine and healthy shakes,
- Refrigeration cartons – These contain roughly 80% paper and 20% polyethene. These are in the supermarket’s chilling part and used for the packaging of milk, soda, cream, and other drinks.
As in any other items, they process these cartons and bale them at the processing centre. Thereafter, they deliver the bales to the recycling centres.
They recycle cartons at paper mills. They remove the fibre and sort them in a process using a hydra pulper, which looks like a giant cooking blender.
They use the pulp that falls out in the production of paper products.
Cartons are also used to make everyday items such as toilet tissue, paper towels, and other writing paper.
3. Electronic Waste
Electronic waste, also known as e-waste or e-scrap, refers to garbage created from damaged and outdated electronic devices, such as computers, televisions, scanners, printers, etc.
The composition of E-waste is of various components, such as:
- gold
- silver
- copper
- platinum
- palladium
- lithium
- cobalt.
A metric tonne of circuit boards will produce 40 to 800 times the amount of gold according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Also, 30 to 40 times the amount of copper extracted from one metric tonne of material in the United States.”
These precious products can be removed and recycled.
With the rapid growth in technology and the use of tech devices, e-waste is a major source of rubbish.
Like home garbage, the increasing volume of e-waste will have a significant carbon footprint on our planet.
E-waste includes a lengthy list of substances that are toxic to humans and the environment, such as:
- mercury
- lead
- beryllium
- brominated flame retardants
- cadmium
If mishandling of e-waste happens while dumping, these chemicals wind up seeping into our ground, water, and even in the air.
The only way to get rid of Electronic Waste safely is to send it to recycle processing facilities.
As a result of E-waste’s harmful nature, in February of 2021, the EU passed a national action plan to create a carbon-neutral, environmentally friendly, toxic-free, and entirely circular economy.
That bill creates stricter recycling laws and binding goals for material usage and consumption by 2030.
4. Non-Ferrous Metals
Non-ferrous metals contain no iron elements in them, such as aluminium, copper, nickel, tin and lead, amongst many others.
In addition to saving primary materials, copper recycling saves a very large amount of Carbon dioxide leakage and power.
Recycling saves approximately 65 per cent of CO2 emissions and 85 per cent of energy needs relative to primary copper production.
Also, it is better for aluminium recycling, which saves 92 per cent of CO2 emissions and 95 per cent of energy usage relative to primary aluminium processing.
5. Plastic Recycling
Plastic is everywhere! But very little is done to control plastic waste after the materials have been discarded.
A whopping 91 per cent of plastic is not recycled, and 79 per cent of plastic waste is left to linger in landfills or clutter our land and sea.
The baling of plastics is required because they exist in various shapes and sizes. This makes it a required step before they are re-used and remoulded into other objects.
Since they are vulnerable to continuous moulding, they tend to hold and collect air and produce air gaps within their composition.
That makes compression a must before the plastic is reused. Also after the baling process, plastics maintain their quality.
6. Tires And Rubber Materials
The baling of a tyre is not a simple operation because it is solid, but using the right tools is possible.
The baling facility compresses the tyre to about half its initial size, making it easy to store and transport.
Another benefit is, in addition to the previously mentioned, tyres help in the production of fuels and the manufacture of synthetic rubber and civil engineering services.
7. Baling Textiles
Textile recycling is a method by which recycled clothes and other textiles are collected to re-use or recover materials. That is the foundation of the garment recycling industry.
The steps in the textile recycling process include:
- the donation,
- the storage
- the sorting
- the processing
- the baling of textiles
- the eventual transport of the recycled clothing, rags or other reclaimed materials to end-users.
Baling textiles is really simple since they can fold into smaller sizes in their natural state very easily.
Textile recycling has the following environmental benefits:
- Decreases the criteria for landfill sites, keeping in mind that synthetic fibre products do not decompose and that natural fibres can release greenhouse gases
- Avoidance of using a virgin fibre
- Reduced oil and water use
- Pollution prevention
- Reduced demand for dyes
In the European Union, they reuse approximately 50 per cent of the textiles collected and about 50 per cent recycled. They also convert about 35% of donated clothing into industrial cleaning rags.
In today’s world society becomes more aware of the risks involved with sending old textiles to landfill sites.
And, as advanced recycling technologies emerge, one can expect that the textile recycling industry will continue to expand.
Don’t Throw Away, Recycle!
Knowledge of the correct baling recycled materials will ensure that your participating activities are constructive and more coordinated.
It also lets you conserve energy and time spent shopping for a variety of items.
Some people call waste collection firms to get rid of their garbage. Very few people, however, have any idea what happens to this waste.
If you are thinking of going into the recycling business and need specific baling machines, why not contact us!
We manufacture a wide range of bale presses for compaction of all kinds of waste materials and their feed conveyors, to your specifications.
Fill in the questionnaire on our website with your baling wishes, which will give us a good platform for further discussions about what suitable equipment is good for you!
