What Are PET Bottles?
Polyethylene terephthalate, or “PET”, is the most common resin in the polyester family and is used in the making of clothing, food containers, and most commonly, plastic bottles. PET bottles are desired by food and beverage manufacturers and the packaging industry for their low cost, transparent quality, and lightweight composition. They typically designed for “one time” use and discarded as waste after human consumption of the liquid product stored inside. This creates a significant plastic waste problem that has global impacts. Handling and transportation of PET bottle waste is not only difficult and expensive, there is a natural disparity between weight and volume. Compacting it and baling it puts it into manageable and stackable sizes for transport to recyclers for reuse. The use of plastic bottle compactors results in easier and cheaper transportation and guarantees that the bottles cannot be resold. This type of sustainable practice not only makes sense to your bottom line, it aligns perfectly with this year’s Earth Day theme in April, “Planet vs. Plastics”.
What Are Plastic Bottle Compactors?
Plastic bottle compactors are machines that are used by business owners and recyclers that use hydraulic pressure to compress PET bottles with the force of a platen or ram against a floor or back of a chamber of the machine.
These machines can be vertical or horizontal in design and fed manually or by use of a conveyor or tipper. The machine continually cycles either manually or automatically until the densified plastic fills the chamber in a “bale full” status. Before being ejected from the machine, the material is then bound by wire or strapping in a process called baling. That is why plastic bottle compactors are commonly referred to as PET balers.
How Do You Know What Kind Of Plastic Bottle Compactor You Need
The type of plastic bottle compactor you need for your business or recycling center depends on several factors. These include:
- The volume of plastic bottles you need to compact/bale.
- The size of the plastic bottles you need to compact/bale.
- The way you will be feeding the bottles you need to compact/bale.
- Whether or not the bottles are full or empty at the time they need to be compacted/baled.
If you have a smaller volume of plastic bottles to recycle and they are not full, most vertical balers can handle your commodity through manual feeding. Harmony manufactures 30-72″ vertical balers that can all be fed manually and many have automatic ejection systems. They all make manageable dense bales of plastic bottles.
If you have larger volumes of plastic bottles or large sizes of plastic bottles to recycle that are not full, a larger mill-sized automatic baler might be the best solution for your business. Harmony’s T60XDRC is the preferred choice of both business owners and recycling center around the world for baling PET bottles. This machine is conveyor fed and cycles automatically until the chamber is full and the bale is ready to be tied. It makes bales that measure 30”x 60” ≤ 48” in size and weigh up to 1260 lbs. This baler is also recognized for making the most dense bales of plastic bottles available on the market.
Harmony’s HM-60 Horizontal Baler is often used for extremely high volume situations and can be fed manually, with a tipper, or by use of a pit or standard conveyor system.
For operations that need to compact full bottles of liquid stored in plastic bottles, a liquid extraction baler will be needed. These balers compact full bottles and the remaining liquid is drained and the product is baled. They also come in vertical and horizontal models, depending on the volume and size of the product being baled.
Not all liquid extraction balers are the same. Your liquid extraction baler will need to have some type of perforating device or teeth that can puncture the product, have a liquid reservoir, drain, and pump system to remove the residual liquid, and be made of stainless steel wherever liquid touches the baler to ensure longer equipment life.
Harmony manufactures four different types of ExtractPack Balers for every industry and size of operation. Our experienced sales team can help you decide which long lasting model is right for you.
What Are The Benefits Of Plastic Bottle Compactors?
Plastic bottle compactors provide many benefits for business owners, recyclers, and the general public. Here are just a few of those benefits:
- Plastic bottle compactors help increase a business’ storage space, improve workplace safety, and make bales that are easy to stack, transport, and recycle. This helps to generate recycling revenue while improving a company’s overall sustainability image.
- Plastic bottle compactors in the form of liquid extraction balers help to protect brand identity and standing in the marketplace. These machines ensure that product that are out-of-spec do not make it to the general public.
- Plastic bottle compactors help to protect the environment by making it easier to keep plastic bottles out of the landfill and oceans.
- Plastic bottle compactors allow businesses, recyclers, and governments to adhere to recycling regulations. For example, many of the countries that are part of the Basel Convention are instituting new aggressive mandates to reduce plastic pollution significantly by as early as 2030. These machines help with the safety and efficiency of these efforts.
Contact Harmony Enterprises Today!
If you would like to learn more about plastic bottle compactors, how they work, what types there are, and how they can help you improve your business operations and bottom line, please call us at (507) 886-6666 or fill out this simple form today. It is our mission to not only help you find exactly the right solution for your business, but also to help make the earth a more sustainable place for generations to come!
