Paper Recycling Systems — Waste Not, Want Money

According to Fakeris, Ohio Blow Pipe is cognizant of the need to provide systems that boast a small footprint. An added plus is the ability to erect systems under the roof, with lower height requirements.

“We take the approach that a customer may only buy a system once or twice in a career for their plant,” he says. “Therefore, a lot of education has to go into making that decision—not only profit and loss decisions, but also the most optimum equipment to use and which regulations they should be concerned about.”

Oftentimes printers do not look at paper scraps with dollar signs in their retinas—and that’s a mistake, contends Mike Connell, sales manager for Balemaster. Printers often overlook the benefits of recycling waste paper, he says. “Dealing with waste is generally considered a nuisance or necessary evil, but printers that implement a good recycling program often create a profit center. Baled waste paper can fetch between $75 and $150 per ton.”

Connell notes that Balemaster manufactures heavy-duty, automatic balers equipped with touchscreen interfaces. Dust control features also minimize dust emissions in the baling room, a critical feature.

On the subject of costs to ship recycled paper, baled paper reaps a higher price because it’s better loaded onto a tractor trailer or rail car for shipment directly to the paper mill, states Don Seaver, sales specialist and system integrator for G.F. Puhl Co. A printer can experience logistical problems with the transfer of scrap paper from the production equipment to the trailer or rail car without a trim collection system in place or if the system isn’t adequate to handle all evacuation of the scrap.

“Brokers prefer full loads—typically 44,000 pounds on tractor trailers and no less than 90,000 pounds on rail cars,” Seaver says. “Brokers can charge a (fee) for light loads. Baled paper will meet these requirements much easier than the Gaylorded, loose or palletized paper.”