5 Pieces of Waste Equipment Every Industrial Facility Should Own

Waste haulers may ultimately handle recycling and landfill materials, but industrial facilities still need plenty of their own professional waste equipment to collect and store materials until the hauler can cart it away. Every industrial facility needs the following pieces of waste equipment:

• Roll-out Carts (for primary waste collection)
• Mobile Garbage Bins (for accumulation of various waste streams)
• Electric Tuggers (to remove ergonomic hazards associated with pushing/pulling heavy loads)
• Bin Dumpers (to remove ergonomic hazards associated with tipping trash cans into dumpsters)
• Dumpsters and/or Compactors (for outbound collection/storage; one required for each outbound waste stream)

Before we get into this waste handling infrastructure in detail, we should take a moment to clarify what we mean by “industrial facility.” The state of Oregon’s Revised Statutes circa 2017 provide a strong working definition of the term:

It’s a broad description, but what binds together manufacturers, warehouses, and commercial plants is the difference they share with residential or institutional buildings. Industrial facilities generate different kinds of waste, and they need heavy duty equipment that can accomodate that waste.

Waste Equipment Designed for Industrial Materials Handling

Industrial waste handling plans must address multiple challenges not faced in the residential waste stream. These include:

• Industrial facilities may generate multiple types of waste, each with its own specialized hauling provider. For instance, a manufacturing facility may hold contracts for hauling away landfill waste, recycling, wastewater sludge, and spent oil.
• Waste that qualifies as “hazardous” under the U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) must meet strict handling standards to avoid running afoul of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Industrial operations are likely to produce at least some waste that the RCRA deems hazardous.
• The RCRA sets specific national goals, many of which match environmental policy for the companies operating an industrial facility. These include “protecting human health and the environment…, conserving energy and natural resources, reducing the amount of waste generated,” and “ensuring that wastes are managed in an evironmentally sound manner.”
• These environmental considerations require facility operators to perform as much source reduction and waste-stream separation as possible.
• As mentioned above, even non-hazardous solid wastes generated by industrial processes can be heavier and rougher than other materials. Waste equipment must be designed specifically for these materials, with higher load capacities, stronger finishes, and more power than counterparts in the residential waste-handling space.

Given risks unique to industry processes, it is vital to the success of the waste management plan to provide equipment that addresses the challenge.

Choosing Waste Equipment for Industrial Waste Management

Every commercial facility needs waste bins and dumpsters, of course, but what type will provide the greatest return on investment?

1. Trash Cans for Primary Collection

Not just any trash can will do for an industrial waste management plan. Even at the primary point of collection, waste bins for industrial use should include the following features:

• Different colors to represent different waste streams. Label all trash cans clearly to avoid contamination in recycling and composting materials.
• High-capacity, both in terms of size and maximum load.
• Embedded with RFID tags for integration into Industry 4.0 systems.
• Wheeled for ergonomic handling.

Wheeled trash cans allow users to carry the waste load to the collection site. The alternative is to ask staff to manually lift bags out of bins, which requires both bending and lifting: ergonomic risk factors.

2. Mobile Garbage Bins Cut Down on Trips to the Dumpster

When staff members are busy rolling trash cans to the dumpster, they’re not available for production tasks. That can cut down on a facility’s overall efficiency. One way to save time on waste-handling is to position high-capacity Mobile Garbage Bins at strategic locations.

Rather than wheel the primary trash can all the way out to dumpsters, employees can accumulate waste in these rolling bins. This way, they can empty waste into dumpsters in a single trip. Look for the following features in Mobile Garbage Bins:

• Choose capacities based on some multiple of those of trash cans. For instance, if a department uses 35-gallon Roll-Out Carts for primary collection, a 175-gallon Mobile Garbage Bin will allow staff to make one trip to the dumpster for every five tips of the Roll-Out Cart.
• Heavy duty casters for smooth travel even when fully loaded.
• Lids to contain dust and debris during transportation.
• Tow hooks for ergonomic handling via electric tugger.

Waste streams must remain seperate throughout their entire flow. Consider using color-coded Mobile Garbage Bins that match primary collection trash cans. Mobile Garbage Bins are also availabel with embedded RFID chips for cloud-based waste-tracking systems.

3. Electric Tuggers for Safe Handling of Heavy Loads

The trouble with reducing trips to the dumpster is that Mobile Garbage Bins will weigh quite a bit by the time they’re full. Pushing and pulling heavy loads is a risk factor for the development of musculoskeletal disorders, which cost the U.S. economy $213 billion in treatment and lost wages in 2011.

• Electric tuggers allow a single employee to safely transport rolling loads of incredible weights; the Nu-Star Power Pusher has a capacity of 50,000 pounds.
• These assistive tools handle the weight with powerful electric motors, allowing operators to simply walk the load to the dumpster without exerting themselves in dangerous ways.
• Controls are built into ergonomic handles for simple twist-and-go operation.

With the use of a Nu-Star Power Pusher, wheeled bins, and a Bin Dumper, staff can guide waste through the entire in-house flow without overexertion or dangerous movements.

4. Bin Dumpers for Ergonomic Waste Tipping at the Dumpster

According to an ergonomic assessment by the University of Waterloo’s Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders, emptying waste bins manually presents serious risks for injuries to the back and other soft tissues. High weight loads on the back and motions that move the load outside of the body’s optimal lifting zones create the risk; repitition exacerbates it.

For a heavy industrial waste handling plan, manual emptying of bins is often simply out of the question. The solution is a high-capacity Bin Dumper.

• Simpro Bin Dumpers simultaneously lift and tip Mobile Garbage Bins or other waste receptacles, safely emptying heavy loads without risk to the operator.
• Safety cages guard moving parts.
• The tipping track of the Simpro Bin Dumper keeps weight centered over the unit’s frame for optimal stability at all times.
• Simpro Bin Dumpers are safe for indoor or outdoor use.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the best way to control an ergonomic hazard is to physically change the job to eliminate the risk. This is precisely what Bin Dumpers do for industrial waste handling tasks.

5. Dumpsters, Industrial Trash Compactors, or Both

The final link between a facility and its contracted haulers is the dumpster. Most industrial facilities will need multiple dumpsters, at least one for each waste stream (recycling, composting, landfill waste, etc.)

Some haulers provide their own roll-off dumpsters, although many industrial facilities choose their own. The big question for these operations is whether to use simple dumpsters or a compactor.

• Facilities that generate large volumes of waste can benefit from compactors, which crush contents into a small, dense space. This allows the facilities to collect more materials in each load they send off with the hauler.
• Waste haulers may charge by volume or by visits. If haulers charge for each trip they make to a facility, a compactor may provide an attractive ROI.
• Larger facilities can benefit from a combination of compactors and traditional dumpsters, separated by waste stream.
• Pair dumpsters with Hydraulic Bin Dumpers to improve safety and efficiency. Optional bin hooks are available to secure Bin Dumpers to select dumpsters.

The dumpster is the last stop in a facility’s waste stream. But that doesn’t mean the company’s responsibility ends. The RCRA holds “waste generators” responsible for hazardous waste from “cradle to grave.” For facilities that deal with hazardous waste, then, specialized haulers are often necessary.

Waste Equipment Packages from Solus Group

Solus Group provides specialty waste equipment for industrial facilities, including most of the products we’ve discussed here. Rather than selecting waste equipment piecemeal, however, Solus Group has created two comprehensive bundles to provide complete waste handling systems within a single order.

The Turnkey Waste Handling Solution includes the following equipment:

• Mobile Garbage Bins or Cascade Roll-Out Carts (purchaser’s choice)
• Nu-Star Power Pusher
• Dumpmaster Hydraulic Bin Dumper

This package contains everything a facility needs to collect waste, safely transport it to dumpsters, and easily empty bins for haulers. It also conveniently fits into a roll-off dumpster for off-site waste removal.

The Bulk Waste Handling Package from Solus Group bundles together the following products, all at a 10-percent discount off standard pricing:

• One Bin Dumper
• Choose between Multi-Tip, Dumpmaster, Ezi-MT, or Dockmaster models
• 10 Bins/Carts
• Choose between Cascade Icon Series Roll-Out Carts, Mobile Garbage Bins, or MACX Pallet Bins

Either of these options will prepare an industrial facility for safer, more efficient waste streams. To learn more about waste equipment that can help businesses succeed, contact Solus Group at 314-696-0200.

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