IQS Newsroom Articles on Compactors
Compactors
A cardboard baler is a type of industrial baler that is specifically designed for the compaction and binding of cardboard, typically for recycling purposes. Most cardboard balers are differentiated by the bale size that they produce, but cardboard bailers can also differ in style such as horizontal cardboard balers or vertical cardboard balers. Horizontal balers are much larger in size and are generally used in automotive and industrial manufacturing industries while vertical cardboard balers are smaller and generally used in retail and food processing industries. The style of industrial baler differentiates in the way the material travels through the machine as well as in the way the material is loaded into the machine. Cardboard balers are most commonly in retail, consumer and manufacturing industries to minimize cardboard waste size for applications such as storage and transportation. Although designed for cardboard compaction, most cardboard balers can also bale materials including paper, plastic bottles and plastic shrink wrap.
Since cardboard balers can be manufactured in different styles, the way that they function differs with each style. Vertical cardboard balers can have input areas, loading areas, on the top or in the front of the machine. The material is then automatically bound to form a bale. The bales need to be manually unloaded from the vertical cardboard bailer once the process is complete. Horizontal cardboard balers typically have input areas, loading areas, either on one side of the machine or on top of the machine. Material can be loaded by hand, by conveyors or loader systems or by air systems. Horizontal cardboard balers can be either open-ended or close-ended; open-ended balers can offer automatic binding or manual binding while close-ended balers generally require manual binding. Both styles work through the same general process, in which the input area leads to a chamber where the cardboard is pounded, smashed or squeezed into a compact size. The compaction of the cardboard can be powered through a hydraulic system, generally designed to minimize heat output and energy loss.
As recycling becomes more central to industrial and manufacturing processes, cardboard baling equipment will continue to play a central role in the process as well. Corrugated cardboard is particularly beneficial to recycle because it represents a large percentage of commercial waste, as well as up to 15% of office waste and 40% or more in retail settings. Benefits from cardboard recycling include reduced green house gas emissions, safer workplace environments, the conservation of water, freeing space that was used for wasted cardboard and the conservation of natural resources. An environmentally-friendly process, cardboard balers also prove to be cost-efficient by recycling used cardboard and other materials for profit or for material recuperation that provides an ROI on wasted materials which would not have existed otherwise.