Irish businesses and the public have significantly ramped up their waste management efforts over the last three years. Even with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ireland managed to beat its recycling targets, with businesses playing a central role in this achievement by recycling soft plastic, as highlighted by Repak. This proactive waste management action when it comes to recycling is set to only continue with a reported 95% of people planning to use new deposit return scheme. Furthermore, the EU has set Ireland a target to separate and collect 77% of plastic beverage bottles by 2025 and this target will rise to 90% cent in 2029.
While we must all continue to find ways to prevent waste in the first place, particularly plastic waste, using waste baling machines presents a direct and efficient step for business owners to contribute to waste reduction and cost savings. Repak, a not-for-profit led by member businesses to take the lead on recycling, suggests in its guidance that businesses in Ireland should:
- Investigate the use of waste baling machines and compactors
- Eliminate the use of open skips on sites
- Keep recycling and waste areas tidy with clearly marked bins and instructions for waste segregation
At LSM, we’re experts on waste balers and waste compactors, including reverse vending machines. We know the value these machines can bring to both businesses and the environment. We’ll tell you more about how waste baling machines can help you contribute to your environmental and cost reduction goals here.
Why are Waste Baling Machines Recommended by Experts?
What difference does a waste baling machine make for businesses? You might be surprised at how a relatively simple step in your waste management program can make an impact across your business.
LSM customers find that using a waste baling machine on their premises helps them to:
- Save money & boost productivity: plastic and cardboard balers make it much easier to separate and manage waste while it is still on your premises. It’s the difference between maintenance and floor teams spending hours breaking down boxes, wrangling plastic and hitting a button.
- Comply with European and Irish regulations: European Union Packaging Regulations from 2014 mandates that packaging waste is separated at source, by material type before being collected by a contractor for recycling. Recent updates to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulations (PPWR), requires that all packaging placed on the EU market must be recyclable and packaging should to be separately collected, sorted, and recycled at scale to ensure effective recycling capabilities. Waste management machines like plastic balers and cardboard balers help you to do this and stay ahead of future regulations too.
- Create a positive environmental impact: When you use a recycling baler, like a plastic baler or cardboard baler, it’s easier for your waste management collection partners to handle a significant increase in volume due to compaction. The result is fewer vehicle movements for them, lower costs for everyone, and a reduction in emissions.
- Prepare for the circular economy: Recycling bales keep plastic, cardboard, and other materials in a recoverable state in addition to encouraging more waste into the correct recycling format. As we move closer to the circular economy, making all available recycling waste easier to re-use will create velocity and reduce costs for everyone.
How Do You Choose the Right Waste Baler Machine?
Choosing the right baler and machine for your business will help you maximise the benefits of the baling machine. How do you know the right option for you?
Typically, customers start the selection process by answering a few simple questions:
- What types of waste do you process?
- What is the volume of recycling you process?
Overview of the most popular LSM recycling and waste baling machines:
- Small Baler: A small baler suits businesses that largely handle cardboard and plastic waste. These machines create the most value when you are handling materials that are easy to compress and hold their shape well. Small balers suit small and medium sized businesses like:
- Garden centres & DIY stores
- Small hotels & B&Bs
- Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs): Recognised for Deposit Return Scheme Ireland standards, RVMs accept Plastic Bottles (PET) and metal cans. They feature a clean and eye-catching design, voice command, advertising opportunities, compact size, and a 1-year warranty with routine maintenance agreement. These machines can process 15 units per minute. RVMs typically suit the following environments:
- Shopping centres and retail parks
- Holiday & leisure facilities
- Schools & universities
- Supermarkets & Convenience Stores
- Major transport hubs
- Motorway services & petrol stations
- Hospitals
- Office development
- Mid-size Baler: When you need a step up in power and capacity as well as the option to also process PET bottles and aluminium, the mid-size baler offers you all three in one powerful machine. Customers who typically choose a mid-size baler include:
- Supermarkets, green grocers & convenience stores
- Department stores & wholesalers
- Large hotels
- Service stations
- Mill Size Baler: Mill size balers best suit the highest-volume users with multi-product recycling needs. With a 50-tonne press, they can make quick work of all recycling materials, producing 400-500 kg bales. LSM Mill Size balers have adjustable bale heights that help you better plan for waste removal and storage. Mill-size balers tend to suit these types of customers:
- Department stores
- Wholesalers
- Logistics centres
- Manufacturing plants
- Horizontal Baler: Horizontal balers are the next step up from the vertical mid and mill size balers above and handle even higher volumes of waste. If your volume is greater than 10 bales daily, then jumping up to a horizontal baler will also help you reduce the labour associated with processing the waste, by up to 50%. LSM’s horizontal balers have a compaction force of 50 to 80 tonnes and handle all recycling and dry waste. Typical candidates for a horizontal baler include:
- Recycling centres, waste contractors, & distribution centres
- Large hospitality environments like leisure parks, or airports
- Large supermarkets
- Labour conscious environments
We also offer a range of other compaction and waste baling machines to suit various business needs, including bin packers, glass crushers, and tyre balers.
Meet Your Waste Management Goals
Even as businesses across Ireland and Europe work to reduce the amount of waste they produce, we’ll continue to need to manage recyclable materials because, for almost every business, packaging is required for product quality, safety, and compliance.
Managing the remaining recyclable materials, however, is easier with the right tools. That’s why waste and recycling balers are a recommended part of any commercial waste management plan.
When you work with LSM, you have access to both rental and purchase options as well as servicing included for all LSM and even competitor balers.
To learn more, contact our expert team and find out how adding a waste baler can pay for itself and create savings and efficiency across your business.
