Leading the Way
This past April 1, the city of Lincoln, NE, added itself to the growing list of communities that prohibit the disposal of corrugated cardboard in their landfills. Other cities like Cedar Rapids, IA, Iowa City, IA, Fort Collins, CO, Sioux Falls, SD, have all passed legislation banning the addition of clean, dry corrugated cardboard into the waste stream. States like California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Vermont have also recently followed suit.
Many of these cardboard disposal bans do not come with a penalty to residents or business owners, but rather to the haulers themselves. The main point of these regulations is that cardboard cannot be part of the waste load that is dumped in the landfill if it is in recyclable condition. Read more about the progressive ban in Lincoln on their City of Lincoln Solid Waste Management website.
The intended positive result of the cardboard ban is reduced stress on landfills, conservation of municipal resources, job creation, and sustainable reuse of valuable commodities in other markets.
Although these measures have been important first steps to creating a more sustainable environment, several challenges have been formed as a result of this proactive shift in recycling practices.
Many residents, apartment building owners, business owners, and even recyclers are not equipped to handle the massive influx of cardboard once these laws are put into effect. Often, piles of cardboard sit outside of buildings, creating nests for vermin, are fire hazards, or become non-recyclable when they get wet or moldy. People struggle to find the time or don’t have the capability to haul larger quantities of cardboard to the nearest recycling center.
Harmony Can Help!
There is no one size fits all solution to the problems created when cardboard piles up. One thing is for certain, cardboard disposal bands are a good start. Dumping it in the landfill is not the solution!
Harmony Enterprises recognizes the need for different players in the recycling process to have different solutions for their cardboard recycling pain points. Our complete line of cardboard balers offer specific benefits for each end user. Using a Harmony baler would allow residents to store cardboard neatly and securely, transport larger quantities of cardboard less frequently, and perhaps even gain revenue for the commodity, since the recycler would not have to bale it themselves.
For example, an apartment building owner who wishes to reduce the amount of cardboard piled outside of a staircase or in a basement storage room might want to consider using Harmony’s M42BC Vertical Baler. This baler fits neatly into any area and can roll through a normal doorway. As a plug and play electrical configuration compatible with a variety of voltages, this baler would be the perfect option to create manageable 42″ bales that can be taken to a hauling truck or recycling center in greater quantity.
A business owner that has a larger volume of cardboard and more space in their back room area should consider the M60CB Vertical Cardboard Baler. This affordable and efficient baler creates 60″ bales of cardboard while requiring a minimal operational footprint. Most recyclers prefer to compensate business owners for mill-sized bales that fit uniformly onto trucks or rail cars. This informational page can help you find the right vertical baler option for your business!
Recycling facilities need a way to bale extremely large influxes of cardboard in a short amount of time. This is where larger, automatic balers would be the most beneficial. Models like Harmony’s T60XRC Automatic Baler and H60XL Horizontal Baler provide the large capacity, high density, and heavier bale weights required by recyclers worldwide.
Regardless of the solution, citizens everywhere can agree that something needs to be done with all of this cardboard waste. Recycling is the affordable, sustainable, and common sense answer! Harmony Enterprises not only provides quality products and services to satisfied customers worldwide, we strive to make the world a more sustainable place for generations to come!
If you live, work, or recycle in one of the areas of the country that has implemented these eco-friendly statutes, or would like to learn how you can use our array of products to help you with waste handling and recycling, call us at (507) 886-6666, or Contact Us today!