A baler presses cardboard into 800 to 1,000 lb bales that a recycler takes as a material, not as trash.1 A compactor packs mixed trash into a container so the same waste needs fewer hauls.2 Plenty of grocery stores, warehouses and distribution centers run both. Need a baler? Our provider network supplies them to rent or lease.
Your account executive for commercial dumpsters and compactors
Keith Bonneau
Account Executive, commercial dumpsters and compactors
Talk to Keith about front-load containers, compactors and balers, and recurring service for your sites.
See all commercial dumpster and compactor resources
Reporting on ESG or sustainability? Ask Keith for waste data by site: tons by stream, tons diverted and tons landfilled, from hauler and facility tickets. ESG waste reporting
At a glance
| Spec | Vertical baler | Compactor |
|---|---|---|
| What goes in | One clean, separated stream, almost always cardboard (OCC) | Mixed trash |
| What comes out | A tied bale you store and ship as a material | A packed container, hauled to a landfill or transfer station |
| Typical output | 60 x 30 x 48 in bale, 800 to 1,000 lb on a 60 inch machine1 | 10 to 38 cu yd container, 400 to 700 lb per cu yd packed32 |
| Footprint | Fits indoors; the common 60 inch model needs 94 in of height to install1 | Outdoors on a pad at a dock or wall; a 30 yard self-contained unit is about 22 ft long3 |
| Power | 10 HP, 3-phase, 208 to 230 or 460 V (60 inch model)1 | 10 HP, 3-phase, 208, 230 or 460 V (self-contained line we checked)3 |
| Machine weight | About 4,000 lb shipping1 | About 10,800 lb for a 30 yard self-contained unit3 |
| Who picks it up | A recycler or mill buyer takes bales off the dock | A roll-off truck hauls the container |
Size it
Leave a box empty to skip that machine. The tool sizes equipment from published weights; it doesn't price anything.
| You enter | Result |
|---|---|
| 20 cu yd of flattened boxes a week | 2,120 lb; about 2.1 to 2.7 bales a week; about 113 to 138 sq ft for four weeks of bales; bales 4.1 to 5.1 times denser than flattened boxes |
| 200 lb of cardboard a week | 0.2 to 0.25 bales a week: a bale every 4 to 5 weeks |
| 40 cu yd of loose trash a week, 30 yard compactor | 14.3 to 30 cu yd packed a week; about 2.1 to 4.3 pulls a month packed, against 5.8 loose |
How the math works
A 60 x 30 x 48 in bale is about 1.85 cubic yards and weighs 800 to 1,000 lb,1 which is where the 4 to 5 times density comes from. For trash, the low end is a lightly packed load of light trash and the high end a dense, wet one, so the tool gives a range of pulls rather than one number.
Rather talk it through? Give us your weekly cardboard and trash volumes and we’ll tell you which machine makes sense for the building. Call Keith at (978) 612-6647 or request a baler or compactor quote.
Renting or leasing
Our provider network supplies vertical and horizontal balers to rent or lease, set up at your building and covered on the same agreement as your pickups.
Send your cardboard volume, available space and on-site power, and we'll come back with a model and terms.
Before you install one
Send your weekly cardboard and trash, the space you have and the power on site. We come back with equipment, pickups and terms from the provider network.
Questions
800 to 1,000 lb for a 60 x 30 x 48 inch bale from a 60-inch vertical baler.1 Smaller and larger machines make lighter or heavier bales.
No. A baler makes a bale a recycler can take as a material. A compactor that takes cardboard packs it into a container that's hauled like trash unless the hauler has a recycling outlet for it.
Yes, but it goes out as trash. If you have enough cardboard to fill a bale every few weeks, baling it keeps it out of the trash container.
Yes. Our provider network supplies vertical and horizontal balers to rent or lease. Tell us your weekly cardboard and the space you have, and we'll quote it.
Self-contained for wet waste, such as food. Stationary for dry waste like packaging and office trash.
About 25% to 64% fewer, by EPA's loose and packed trash weights.2 Trash that's already heavy when it's loose is at the low end.
No. Under federal rules, workers under 18 can't operate or unload one. 16- and 17-year-olds may load certain paper balers that meet ANSI standards.4
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