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Most of the waste equipment that processes materials at MRFs and sorting facilities is more or less permanent. Compactors, balers, shredders, conveyors, ballistic separators, optical sorters: The entire processing line must be fixed in place.

Most logistics professionals have some familiarity with Gaylord boxes, a type of cardboard box designed for cross-country shipping. They’re sturdy, inexpensive, and versatile, and while they have some disadvantages — they’re not intended for shipping extremely heavy products, and typically, they can only be used once before being recycled — they’re a mainstay of the industry.

Every year, the Solid Waste Association of North America hosts SWANApalooza, an epic “technical conference” (read: trade show) that puts waste-handling technology at center stage. Materials management professionals from around the world will gather in Atlanta, Georgia, between March 23 and 26 for SWANApalooza 2020 to practice just what the show’s theme suggests: “Connecting Our Resources.”

Warehouse operators who specialize in full pallet in/full pallet out workflows avoid some of the OSHA violations that tend to trouble traditional distribution centers. The risks simply aren’t the same as in a traditional warehouse.

Personal protective equipment varies from task to task, but forklift battery PPE should remain standardized across facilities. That’s because the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides clear rules on the protective equipment that anyone working in the battery room should wear.

A self-leveling spring table with a rotating surface makes an ideal pallet-handling workstation. The table is designed to maintain a custom safe working height — even when the level of the work rises or falls, as it must when the operator is building or unpacking a pallet. This constant adjustment to a comfortable elevation protects staff from risky motions like bending, stretching, and adopting awkward postures.

A tote dumper may not be the first piece of material handling equipment you think of for a facility that must maintain strict sanitation protocols — whether that’s food processing, pharmaceuticals, or the grain supply chain itself.

Transfer station design isn’t just about controlling operational costs. The placement, layout, and infrastructure in a transfer station all contribute strongly to the safety of the people who work there. In other words, the original design of the facility is integral to the success of any health and safety program, even one enacted years down the line.

Forklift battery charger cable retractors are the secret safety heroes of your forklift battery room. They don’t vent dangerous gasses, they don’t stop you from dropping a battery, and they don’t clean up electrolyte spills. But no battery room is safe without a collection of these relatively simple, relatively small accessories.

An electric tugger is a highly flexible, low-cost solution to the material handling challenges that can occur at materials recovery facilities (MRFs) and waste processing plants. Armed with a Nu-Star Power Pusher or similar tugger, a single employee can transport incredible loads in one or more Mobile Garbage Bins.