Types Of Trash Compactors

Types Of Trash Compactors

Trash compactors are a great tool to help you save time, space, labor, and money managing waste in your operations. Not only do they compact unrecyclable waste, reducing your company’s waste footprint, they help you keep your work areas clean and safe, while reducing the number of times you need to pay a hauler to remove your trash each month. There are many different styles of trash compactors, and the type you need for your business depends on your trash composition, volume, your available operating space, how you want to feed waste into the compactor, and your budget.

When people think of trash compactors, many people think of under-the-counter household units that became popular in the mid-1970’s. While these provide benefits to local municipal waste collection, this post will focus on types of commercial and industrial trash compactors.

Customer Facing Trash Compactors

The first broad category of trash compactors are customer facing units designed to reduce waste at its source. These compactors, like Harmony’s SmartPack Automatic Compactor are automatic uncontrolled public use machines designed for indoor or outdoor use.

Patrons approach the SmartPack with trash to deposit and an internal sensor recognizes them approaching, sending a signal for the loading door to open automatically. This allows trash to be deposited without having to touch the compactor.  This is increasingly important in a virus-resilient world in which people do not want to touch exposed high traffic areas.

The stainless steel hydraulic ram compresses the trash inside the compactor down to a 11:1 compaction ratio, keeping trash from overflowing and saving up to 75% on labor and trash liners for businesses to manage the trash. They are commonly used in restaurants, airports, shopping malls, museums, sporting venues, theaters, medical facilities, schools, and more!

The wheeled waste cube makes it easy to dispose of full bags of waste that reduce the number of hauling trips needed for trash each month, thus reducing the burden of space placed on the landfills, as well as carbon emissions emitted from hauling trucks.

Not only that, but the machines can be wrapped in high performance vinyl with any type of company marketing or branding message for customers.

Indoor Stainless Steel Compactors

High volume trash areas like kitchens, hospital floors, and child care facilities need trash compactor solutions that can be implemented in small spaces, while still providing maximum compaction of waste.  They are ideal for waste collection on separate floors of multi-level buildings.

Harmony’s 300SS, 450SS, and 700SS Stainless Steel Compactors provide three different size alternatives of these types of compactor solutions.

With stainless steel indoor compactors, trash is manually loaded through a main door on the front of the compactor. When the chamber is full, the operator pushes a button to compact the trash until the bag in the compactor signals that it is full.  The operator can then empty the full bag of trash onto a Harmony Lift Cart to be emptied into an outdoor waste container like a dumpster or larger stationary or self-contained compactor.

These compactors provide better security for your business and employees, require fewer trips to your outside dumpster, reduce your waste is compacted up to 1/25th of the original volume (25:1 compaction ratio), while keeping your place of business much neater and cleaner.

Multi-Unit Building Or Apartment Compactors

Large buildings with multiple units, like apartments or office spaces, utilize a unique type of trash compactor to help with waste. These areas are often limited in space and need a solution to extra tight space problems.  Often times, these compactors are fed through a wall chute in the building.

Obviously, having open top dumpsters in these situations is not desirable. Not only do trash bags pile up and overflow quickly, they invite pests, vermin, and human pilferage.

All of these issues are eliminated with apartment compactors, like Harmony’s AC-30, which has a 4:1 compaction ratio, can be chute or manually fed, and has a one-sided container
connection system that allows the user to connect and disconnect the container by pulling one lever.

Stationary Compactors

These industrial compactors are designed for larger, bulky waste generated from a variety of businesses. These breakaway compactors consist of a main compactor unit and an attachable container, ranging in size from 2.8 cubic yards to as large as 40 cubic yards.

Harmony’s 1, 2, or 3 yard Stationary Compactors provide you with all of the compaction power you need in an efficient outdoor trash compactor and come with a variety of container sizes. Each breakaway compactor can be chute fed or ground fed from the side or rear of the compactor, or have a hopper feed, rear feed with double access doors, a walk on or drive on deck, an enclosed walk on or drive on deck, a side load tipper, or an offset hopper.

Our small and large stationary compactors are the ideal affordable alternative to any screw or auger compactor.

Self-Contained Compactors

Self-Contained compactors are designed specifically for both dry or wet waste. Sometimes referred to as “roll off” compactors, the compactor and container are permanently attached to each other.  When full, the entire unit is dumped or loaded onto a roll-off truck for transportation to the landfill.

Harmony offers a variety of self-contained compactors that utilizing the finest high quality steel plate and structural steel channel and tubing. Our self-contained compactors are available in sizes from 4-40 cubic yards.  The size you need depends largely on the type of waste you generate, the frequency that you create it, its weight, and your desired hauling schedule.

Like stationary compactors, self-contained compactors not only significantly reduce your waste footprint by 4:1, they too offer peace of mind related to odor, vermin, pilferage, and fire hazards.

Vertical Compactors

Stationary and self-contained industrial compactors are also made in vertical orientations for situations where space is a major concern.  These compactors function in the same way, with the added benefit of a space-saving design.

Harmony proudly manufactures two such compactors, our P200 Vertical Compactor, and our VC100 Vertical Compactor.  Both of these innovative compactor eliminate vermin and odor problems, eliminate leakage associated with wet waste, eliminate the need for special material handling equipment, and reduces the space required for your waste storage, all with safe and easy operation.

The P200 can be manually fed by either the front or the rear of the machine. It also provides an amazing 7.5:1 compaction ratio while requiring a minimal operational space.

The VC100 has a unique turret style top that allows it to be manually or chute fed from any angle.

Harmony Is Your Trash Compactor Resource!

Harmony not only manufacturers the widest range of trash compactors available on the market, we provide professional training, service, parts, and maintenance. Each of our compactors can be configured with our Insite monitoring technology that helps to maximize labor and hauling and come with our leading 3-2-1 warranty.

If you have questions about the benefits of a commercial trash compactor, what type you need for your business, need a free quote, or site review of your operations, we are here to help! Call us at (507) 886-6666 or fill out this simple form and one of our friendly and knowledgeable sales professionals will reach out to talk with you directly. Start your waste management success story with Harmony today!