Product Focus: Vertical Balers

In this product focus, we’re going to be looking into vertical balers; what they are, how they work and what benefits they bring to an organisation.

• What is a Baler?
• How Do Vertical Balers Work?
• What Types of Vertical Baler Are There?
• What Are The Benefits of Having a Vertical Baler?
• Choosing a Vertical Baler
• Improving Sustainability

What is a Baler?

A baler machine efficiently compresses waste into a transportable block, known as a bale. They’re most commonly used with recyclable materials, such as cardboard, polythene, PET bottles and paper. The bales can be easily transported to recycling centres, who pay for the materials or to landfill for non-recyclable waste.

Now, there are two types of baler: vertical and horizontal. As the names suggest, vertical balers stand upright. They have a press plate which moves down to compress the waste. Horizontal balers are, of course, horizontal, with the press plate moving sideways to compress the waste.

How Do Vertical Balers Work?

Vertical balers are ideal for small to medium waste loads. To operate one, the user opens the door, puts the waste in and closes the door. The press plate goes down (using either a hydraulic lever or a push-button, depending on the model). The user would then manually push a lever to make the press plate return to the top.

A semi-automatic vertical baler has an auto-return cycle to save staff time. There is also a ‘bale full’ signal, so workers can leave the baler to work and come back to it when they are alerted that the job is done.

What Types of Vertical Baler Are There?

There are several types of vertical baler to suit all needs:

• A small baler is used when there is limited space or a low volume of waste.
• A mid-range baler is mainly used for polythene and cardboard. It produces pallet size bales ready for recycling and is generally for businesses that have a medium volume of waste.
• A mill-size baler gets maximum revenue at the mill. It produces pallet size bales from larger waste objects, such as cardboard. If you have a lot of waste paper, a mill-size baler produces bales that can be taken directly to a paper mill.
• A specialised baler, such as the X Range baler, is suitable for difficult products, like tough PET bottles or cans. It offers reduced noise and a small footprint.

What Are The Benefits of Having a Vertical Baler?

As vertical balers are upright, they take up very little floor space compared to horizontal balers or other machinery.

Some vertical balers are configured with an automatic door, which can be great time savers. When a baler is in constant operation, it can produce several bales an hour. These balers only require staff time to tie off bales and reset the press plate. This means actual loading time is massively reduced, freeing up staff to focus on other jobs.

Manual balers are great for those looking for a budget option, but our clients find that semi-automatic balers are more than worthwhile in their benefits. The time saved by the automatic processes by far outweighs any additional cost.

Choosing a Vertical Baler

Some of the factors to consider when deciding upon a baler are:

• How much waste do you produce?
• What type of waste is it?
• What percentage of the waste is cardboard/polythene?
• What staff labour is currently used in the waste system?
• What is your budget, based on the savings it can generate?
• What floor space is available?

Energy use is another consideration. There are different options available, but overall the amount of energy used will depend on usage. A good rule of thumb is that a kilowatt of power on a motor will use one unit of electricity per hour. 

Improving Sustainability

Sustainability and CSR is another important consideration. Many companies look at waste as a necessary cost and don’t realise that substantial savings can be made by changing a waste process to reduce labour. 

Here at Greenbank, we look at the best way of removing and reusing waste, making waste handling as environmentally friendly as possible. In that regard, balers can help companies become more sustainable, reducing landfill waste whilst generating revenue.

We help our clients assess their needs to choose the right baler for them. If clients want to save energy, costs or space, there are options available that will work for them. To find out more about the balers available to you, download our brochure.

Explore Baler Types and Specifications

We have a number of baler options available, all providing solutions to specific business waste management needs. In our brochure, you can explore these options and discover the specifications, allowing you to determine which one fits the needs of your business best. 

To grab your copy, click on the banner below.