Clothing Balers
Perhaps it is our overindulgence of our children or our overspending on ourselves, but I prefer to think that the growing industry of sending used clothing overseas is a product of our generosity. Whatever the reason, many 501C (3) organizations are shipping truck loads of used clothing to Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe daily. So much so that many of the calls we get for balers today are to bale clothes for shipping overseas to markets like this used clothing market in Romania below.
Much of the clothing donated is surprising in either new or very lightly used condition. If your family is anything like mine, we spend a fortune at Christmas buying clothing we think our kids will like only to see it 8 months later sitting in their “get rid of” pile. Some with new tags indicating that it has never been worn! And again, if you are anything like me, there is little sense in arguing with your beloved benefactors about throwing clothing away that you would have been happy to own when you were their age! Does the phase “in one ear and out the other” ring a bell? In any event, it might make you feel better that you are giving this gift twice – once to your child and then once to someone else’s child. We are a generous people! Two gifts at only one price!
Many Salvation Army, Goodwill, and other used clothing recipients have so much used clothing that they ship it to needy people everywhere. The same baler that will bale cardboard, plastic, and non-ferrous materials can also be used to pack and ship clothing. Why bale? More lbs per cubic foot in a shipping container translates to cheaper shipping costs. The best way to pack and handle large shipments of clothes is to bale it into cubes. Easier stacking is a byproduct of baling the clothes adding to the amount that can be packed into a 20’ or 40’ shipping container.
The size of the bale depends largely upon where the bale is going. As with cardboard, plastic, and non-ferrous materials, the larger the bale – the less handling necessary to process the same amount of material. Therefore, 1,000 lb bales are usually the best – except for much of the clothing heading for Africa. Africa as well as some other third world countries lack the forklifts necessary to handle 1,000 lb bales. In that case, smaller 150 lb – 250 lb bales are required. Smaller bales require smaller balers. Believe it or not a growing industry of small clothing balers that not only bale the clothing, but wrap it in plastic has established itself in our present day economy. Unfortunately, there are few used clothing balers out there that are on the market which can be refurbished and sent to organizations who can then extend the life of these balers. Most who need a baler must buy new.
Several manufacturers make clothing balers which are similar to the picture above. If you are in need of a baler, it is best to contact dealers such as Quality Bilt to discuss further. We can help determine what baler is best for you and find the best valued baler on the market.
So don’t hesitate dropping those “old” clothes in a corner container or at the back door of your local Salvation Army or Goodwill Store. It just might make it to Africa long before you ever do!
Cardboard balers and savings
Cardboard is everywhere. Your new washer and dryer are packed in it as well as your cell phone and other electronic devices. In fact for many shipping situations, cardboard boxes are packed within cardboard boxes. My wife recently bought some pots and pans. Inside the big cardboard box which contained the entire shipment were two smaller cardboard boxes which each contained another 3 cardboard boxes. And inside the smallest boxes were more cardboard to protect the glass lids and handles. My kitchen was full of cardboard and you would have thought that we bought a whole new kitchen instead of a few new pots, pans and lids.
It’s not much different in my business life as well. Cardboard within cardboard within cardboard is not uncommon. What do you do with all that cardboard? Well, the good news is that most of that cardboard does end up at the recycling mill! Upwards of 70% of all the cardboard manufactured is recycled into – what else – more cardboard. But are you paying too much to have someone else make money on your cardboard? Many businesses are oblivious to the cost savings of recycling cardboard. Not only can you make money selling OCC (Old Corrugated Cardboard), but the savings of not paying to haul it away can be even greater! Let’s examine this a little closer.
Take a walk by your dumpster. Is it half or even ¾ full of cardboard? Most companies pay $300 each time a 40 yard roll-off container is picked up and that does not include the weight inside the container. Let’s just use the $300 figure to do some simple math. If your dumpster is being hauled away twice a week and it is half full of cardboard, that means that you are paying $300 per week plus weight to have your cardboard hauled away. Most of the time that cardboard is being separated by the waste hauler and sold to a recycling mill. So not only does the waste hauler collect money from your company to haul the cardboard away, he is making money selling it as well. It must be worthwhile for the waste hauler! Why else would he do it?
The next question is, why aren’t you saving and making that money? If you can save $300 per week and sell the cardboard for another $125 – $150, over a year’s time, that is over $22,000! Yes, I said $22,000!
To do it right does require an investment into a baler of $7,000 – $10,000 but that is once and would be paid for in less than 6 months. Spend $10,000 now for saving of $22,000 for the next 10, 15 or 20 years sounds like a “no brainer” to me!
Plastic Recycling
The good news is that every year, more and more of all this plastic is being recycled. Major campaigns by governments associations and organizations are encouraging reclaiming this widely used product and using it again and again. However, many businesses and industries have not caught on to the value (environmental AND monetary) of recycling their plastic. Much of the large industrial uses still send much of their plastic to the landfill. It is time to change and bring more of the “heavy users” into the fold.
Returns on investment studies – that capitalistic motivator – has shown to many, many companies that they are throwing away money every day! News flash to all you company types out there – MONEY SAVED IS MONEY EARNED! The bottom line is affected as much by cost savings as it is by income received. The problem is that management isn’t trained to think about that as much as they are on how to increase revenue. And to top that off, handling “garbage” is not sexy! That includes talking about how to handle the “garbage”. Warehouse managers and corporate types might never venture to the back of the building to watch the garbage truck pick up their profits and dump it into the waste management’s coffers via that dirty, smelly truck.
This is not an environmentalist’s attack on the corporate world as you might be thinking right now. I am an environmentalists and a capitalist! I do believe in the profit motive as well as the environmental movement. Therefore, this is an environmental capitalist’s attack on other capitalists who need to become a little more environmentalist and spend a little time considering recycling their plastic to help the environment while helping the bottom line!
So, how do you get started? Go to the waste site on your property and see what is being hauled away every day. If you need help seeing the clear picture, ask someone for help. There are many companies (including mine) who will offer FREE, NO OBLIGATION WASTE AUDITS to determine where money can be saved and earned from your waste pile.
Styrfoam Recycling
Styrofoam (a trademark name owned by Dow Chemical) is pervasive in our country. It is everywhere! Anything from your couch to your ipod is packed in Styrofoam to protect it while being shipped from place to place. It looks like peanuts or can be molded into very large “corner protectors” to prevent movement or absorb shocks when shipped. It’s in the bottom of your vase or your artificial flower arrangement or found everywhere in your local grocery store in the form of plates, cups or as a base in frozen cakes or microwavable trays.
Styrofoam (or polystyrene) is a very unique plastic that is literally 98% air. It is a fantastic shipping material for several reasons. It is very light and does not add to the weight and therefore the shipping costs of numerous items. It is inexpensive and protects expensive electronics from damage if the package is accidentally dropped. It is easily molded into any shape necessary to fit almost any type of finished product. It can be molded into cups that insulate your coffee or into plates that resist leakage. It is a wonder product that has no equal and therefore has a bright future in our consumer society. But it has a very serious downside as well.
How do you get rid of the darn stuff when you are finished with it? Burn it and it smells and is toxic. While chloro fluora hydrocarbons were eliminated a decade ago, it is still not safe to burn. It is almost impossible to compact. Its’ durability is why it is so useful in the first place, but its’ durability is also why it is so hard to dispose of it. It weighs next to nothing which is also why no one wants to send it to be recycled. The cost of shipping the stuff is more than the value of the Styrofoam. Warehousing costs are higher than buying new each time you need it. AND IT TAKES AN ESTIMATED 50,000 YEARS TO DEGRADE!
So what is a responsible warehouse manager to do? Torn between the cost of disposal and the environmental issues, most choose to just throw it into the trash to be hauled away and thrown into the land fill. But that isn’t cheap either. Styrofoam fills roll of containers quickly and is expensive to haul away. Most give up and fatalistically think “it is what it is!”
Well, it isn’t what it is! There are Styrofoam recyclers who will buy back the Styrofoam and recycle it into eye glass frames, picture frames, or even bicycle helmets if you can just find a way to ship it inexpensively. Fill a truck with 5,000 lbs of Styrofoam and the cost per pound is prohibitive. But fill a truck with 30,000 or 40,000 lbs of Styrofoam and the cost per pound is well worth the shipping cost. But how to reduce the volume is the trick.
Quality Bilt is dedicated to providing the highest quality balers, compactors, shredders, and styrofoam densifiers with the best long term value for your equipment dollar. We are not necessarily interested in being the biggest equipment company, but we do intend to be the best.
