At Miller Recycling, we service numerous facilities generating a wide list of commodities. The majority of these materials are recycled. Unfortunately, some – due to their makeup and combination of incompatible products – cannot be recycled. One of those products is used or scrap furniture.
Used furniture contains a combination of fabric, wood, foam, metal, plastics, laminates, and more. A majority of these materials can be recycled. However, when they are combined recycling is impractical and cost prohibitive.
We always want to help our clients when possible, even those companies that generate less desirable material like used furniture. Our goal is to first assist our clients with recycling as much of their byproduct as cost effectively possible, and then help them to properly dispose of any waste remaining.
Case Study:
A company that sells furniture offers a service whereby they take in used furniture items when delivering new. The company then has to dispose of the used furniture. They operate numerous trucks – so the volume generated, depending on business conditions, can become overwhelming at times.
Miller Recycling provided large 40 yard open top containers for this used furniture material, which they filled twice per day with, on average, 10-12 containers per week. Due to the bulky nature of this material, these containers were light in weight even though they were filled to capacity.
The volume of these containers added up to an excessive amount of hauling charges and labor, and also created safety issues and unsightly piles due to overflowing or unavailable containers.
To help this company, we researched various ways to approach the problem. Stationary compactors did not work, as they didn’t maximize the compactor containers. Shredders, although feasible, proved to be expensive, dusty, and a safety concern.
What we decided was best, and what we proposed to the client, was the installation of a heavy duty auger style compactor built by Komar to break down the furniture. That way, exponentially more material could be held in each container. These machines operate with minimal horsepower, creating little (if any) dust or noise, and are able to pack a container and reduce material volume by over 8:1.
A proposal was submitted, a site determined, and a 40HP Komar auger compactor and 45 yard compactor container was installed. This tactic proved to be highly successful, reducing the 10-12 containers being filled per week to 2-3 containers. Additionally, the company has been able to eliminate 2 men, saving 80 hours per week in labor costs.
Call Miller Recycling to find out how we can assist your company increase recycling and reduce disposal costs.