Is it worth the investment to get a baler to sell plastics baled? Looking for some buyers to figure it out but thought I'd ask. Thanks all
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Is it worth the investment to get a baler to sell plastics baled? Looking for some buyers to figure it out but thought I'd ask. Thanks all
it depends on how much you have. If you get quite a bit every day then yes if you get quite a bit every month then no. PC/ABS cold bring $0.15-0.21lb. depending on how you bale it and if you can get full loads 30k-40k in a truck. If you do it once a month on a 35k load your return would be on $0.15lb $5,250 every month. The rent on a baler would be about $350-500 depending on what you purchase. PM me if you are interested and I can get you a baler and buy your plastics at the same time. Hope that helps
Maybe a shredder or a self contained compactor might work better.
Shredder: I was thinking about this not to long ago about buying an old tree service truck and brush shredder and shred plastics with it (On the go possibly, new money source possibly). I don't know if that would work or not, but just throwing an idea out there.
Self-Contained Compactor: These can be emptied by the plastics recycler (If they have them, some don't offer them). They look just like roll-off bins but with a lid on it and a compactor unit on the front. You wouldn't have to worry about shipping the plastic or having to store bales, because its all in one container.
Here is what they look like:
http://www.resource-equipment.com/im...mpactor-LG.jpg
I like the idea of being able to shred then compact now you have two peices of equipment. My buyer would accept shred plastics but it take the value way down ($0.05-$0.10lb)
In order to get at the top of the pricing tier, you need to get a baler that will run a minimum of $150,000
Factor in electric, labor, maintenance, etc. You need to be moving tremendous volume.
Alot of buyers are PICKY on the shred. We are more than happy to quote anything you generate, we move a considerable amount of plastics. We can even help with the selection of a baler.
Having come from the garbage industry I have a lot of contacts in the paper and plastic recycling business. I just had a few of them stop by and offer to install a baler as long as I give them my plastic. They only requested that I sort the plastic by color to get a better price. I wouldn't imagine a company would want to give you a compactor unless they are picking it up multiple times a week and you are perhaps paying a lease fee for the machine. I have purchased and installed many of them and they cost a pretty penny. You would not expect to get paid for the material unless you were doing A LOT of volume. The company providing it would have to recoup the cost of the machine and you would be stuck in a long term contract with them (if they're smart). The best bet for plastic is with out a doubt bailing, storing and shipping.
This is probably a silly question but could you use a cardboard baler to bale plastic? I see cardboard balers going pretty cheap at auctions.
I saw a bailer on craigslist orlando today 5000
Those balers wont get you the required weight and bale size to achieve top dollar.
You can do better that way than loose.
Cardboard balers will work, need a 7"+ cylinder, not sure the amount of force required i have it written down somewhere.
yes 150k for a 2 ram baler is about right. All you need to get started is a down stroke baler. $5k-10k depending on the make and model. Yes you can use a OCC baler to bale plastics of all kinds.
A lot of it depends on the buyer. Some places want a minimum weight per bale while others don't care. Most balers are made for multi purposes so a cardboard baler should be OK but should check first. The bigger issue in my opinion is the spacing between the wire/strapping holes. You want the two end ones close to the end since you are baling small stuff that will break into even smaller pieces. The other thing would be to make sure you place the items in the baler so it stays together better.
And better check to see what your buyer wants...wire or strapping
Correct me if I am wrong since I have not baled any ABS yet.
So what kind of balers are y'all talking about? The first thing that came to my mind was a cardboard baler, but you can't pack a lot into those. So are y'all talking about balers that trash companies use at MRF's? Like this:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ewasted
http://www.communitywastedisposal.co.../Mrf/mrf-9.jpg
Those can help maximize loads to get good revenue from the plastic, upper $.15per lb plus. You need to remember how expensive those are, overhead, etc... not to mention it takes multiple people to run one of those machines.
There are vertical 7" cylinder balers out there, i can track one down for you if you'd like.
It will however be a pretty slow process 1-2 bales an our... maybe hitting 700-900 lbs... and it will make a huge mess
Balers are like cars the better the brand the better the bale and the larger the baler the better the baler. The baler in the picture is crazy huge and cost about 250k or more depending on a few things. Not something you would need. Again if you can get 1250-1350lb bales that is a great VERT baler. That being said you should be able to get well over 35,000lbs of PC/ABS mix that could get you $0.15-$0.20lb. depending on the region your in.
You will not find a vertical baler for 5-10k to make a bale near or over 1000 lbs of mixed abs plastic.
I am not a plastic buyer/seller but if a plastic buyer requirers that you send 40,000 lbs at a time what diffrance does it make how much the bale wieghs? 40 bales at 1,000lbs or 20 bales at 2,000lbs.
Freight.Quote:
Originally Posted by happyscraper
Two things really. The first thing is the freight. Bales need to be around 1000 lbs each in order to max the weight of the truck. The other is most processors need a certain weight bales. Too light and it is extra labor for them too heavy and they have a hard time handling the bales.Quote:
Originally Posted by happyscraper
Unless they changed the wieght restrictions 40,000lbs is the max for a tractortrailer. I thought freight charges where based by the pound so how does freight come into play? Unless you can't get 40 bales in one trailer. I think I'll aske my plastic guy how he does it, I know he has an upright baler they bales everything with, cardboard,paper, all kinds of plastic. I think I hijacked this thread,sorry.
vertical balers have a lower compaction rate for computer plastics, but they compact cardboard and paper well... which is what most of them are designed to do.
This is all learning for me, no sorrys needed on my end.
This is the best point made so far.. 60 inch baler is the way to go... You can go larger.. but I wouldn't go any smaller that is for sure.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ewasted
That's really the problem. Yours bales need to be dense enough so that you can actually fit the max weight (Ideally 40K) in a truck. So a 53' truck has approx. 4,000 cubic feet of space --- so you need t compact the plastic to 10 pounds per cubic foot --- that is assuming that you can stack all the bales to use all 4000 ft. That make sense??Quote:
Originally Posted by happyscraper
Slaghunter, that makes the best sence, seams to me you should have no problem getting 10lbs per sq. ft. I have seen flat bet trucks hauling cardboard but don't ever see flat beds hauling plastic, I quess the plastic might fly off and hit someones car.
if anyone would like to have My plastic scraps.. I be happy to give it to you free.. the catch... You gotta come and get it.
contact Me..
thanks.
By compaction rate i dont mean bale size, i mean the density of the bale. A vertical baler won't get you there. Plastics for maximum recovery (atleast in current market) are exported, so they dont go into a 53' truck, they are loaded into a 40 foot container.
More good information.. The best way to sell your plastic is find a buyer overseas and ship direct to them. You nor they want to waste the space inside the container. Getting the most out of the space in the container is the name of the game. Anyone can fill a container full of a product, but doing it the most efficient way is how you make money and build good relationships with commodity buyers. If they get a container and it only weighs 30000, they are going to pay you much less than you deserve and might very well shy away from buying from you in the future. It is all a numbers game in the commodity market and square inch/lbs matters.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ewasted
This is also why ewasted made the point that certain balers will work while others won't. The size of the bale doesn't matter nearly as much as the density. Balers are built to compact the product to this specific density. Each product has a different density benchmark. I dealt with cardboard for a long time and there were other things to worry about like moisture etc. With plastic, it is all about how much of it can be condensed into a specific size bale.
It looks and sounds alot easier than it really is. Balers arent very reliable to begin with. Nor is getting a relationship with the proper people to move the material. We've been doing business with our downstreams on plastic for over 6 years now. Ive seen alot of companies come and go, and alot of people never get paid on their loads. Like anything else in this business it is a tough gig - looks easier than it really is.
First, if you don't generate large quantity, sell it locally. Moving such light weight and low value material, the shorter deliver distance and less handling should be the first thing taking into consideration.Quote:
Originally Posted by ddelatorre14
I couldn't agree with ddelatorre more. There are few things in play when it comes to pc/ABS value.
1. Weight: More weight you can load into 40"/45" container will make difference on value per pound ($0.01 or $0.02, depends on shipping point and your buyers destination).
2. Size of material: The smaller size "Shredded" material will required more processing labor. (unless you are sure you have 100% ABS)
3. Color mixed: White always bring in more money compare to black. Buyers always ask the estimated percentage of the color mixed.
4. Other plastic: most TV plastic back panel is HIPS that worth less than ABS. You want to know that your buyer will take MIXED before you baled it together.