Sustainability in the Material Handling Industry

If not already developed, your company has likely begun to develop some sort of a green initiative. The conventional wisdom of doing things good for the environment and good for the bottom line is sometimes difficult to achieve. Now, thanks to the application of high density compaction and innovative technology, that’s all changing in the field of waste material handling and solid waste removal.

Through high density compaction and automated dispatching of waste haulers, it is possible to reduce transportation operations by an average of 40% or more. Such results are possible by fixing the problem at the source….the waste compactor. By improving the performance efficiency of waste compactor management so that only maximum loaded compactor containers are picked up, enormous improvements and savings are possible.

This is especially important because waste removal trucks are among the least efficient vehicles on the road. But as it turns out, the easiest solution to reducing costs and the carbon footprint of the waste process is with the waste compactor, not the truck. A high density compactor with a monitoring system from SP Industries is your best solution. An automated monitoring system actually watches how the high density compactor container is filling, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When a “full container” is sensed, the waste hauler is automatically notified by the monitor. In real world experience, this results in an average of 40% fewer trips by the waste hauler, and reducing the fuel consumption, air pollution, and carbon footprint of these trucks by 40%!

Many waste compactor users find it almost impossible to consistently know when a compactor’s container is ready for pickup. Because businesses are often concerned about calling the hauler too late, they rely on regularly scheduled waste pickups, or guess when to call for a pickup based on such unreliable measures as pressure gauges and indicator lights. These practices result in compactor containers being picked up too frequently, often with only 5,000# to 6,000# payloads when they should be 15,000# to 20,000# payloads.

Like an out-of-tune car or truck engine, an inadequate or malfunctioning compactor is incredibly wasteful. Improper pressure settings or faulty gauges can fool workers into calling for a pickup when the container is just half full. The added pollution that results, as well as the added expense, can be much more significant than is at first apparent. High density compaction is able to greatly improve waste stream efficiency and document results, because it is a complete, fully automated monitoring solution. State-of-the-art sensing technology, on-board intelligence and embedded software are fully configurable to the needs of the individual user.

Fewer truck pickups equate to fewer miles driven, which means fewer trucks are needed to service the same number of customers. That also means that truck maintenance is reduced proportionately. So, reducing these factors is an added bonus.

Perhaps the most attractive aspect of utilizing these types of systems is that on a purchase basis, the system typically pays back in 9 months or less. After that, it continues to generate major savings. Contact an SP representative today to find out more about how to significantly reduce operating expenses and cut your carbon footprint.

“Greener” Recycling

The three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle have become a sort of social mantra that communities and households operate under to create environmental awareness and promote sustainability. What many people do not know is that these terms are part of a hierarchy. This means that one should first reduce or use less; whether you purchase fewer products, take shorter showers, turn off unused lights, or unplug unused chargers.


Next, reusing is a straightforward reference to using an item more than once for their original purpose. This is conventional reuse. But, with some creativity people can reuse everyday items for many different purposes. For instance, old CDs, toothpaste tubes, yard debris, and tires have several uses around the house: http://www.squidoo.com/reuse-everything

Finally, recycling refers to the processing of old products into new ones in order to reduce wasting valuable materials. One of the major concerns with recycling now-a-days speaks to the carbon footprint that results from transporting recyclables around the country and around the globe. Cars, garbage haulers, lorries, pettibones, and ships all use energy to transport recyclables and it is important that this “environmental cost” does not outweigh the costs and energy saved throughout the recycling process.

One major change that can take place to reduce carbon emissions is simply taking less trips. Naturally, taking less trips and maximizing the efficiency of waste transportation requires packing waste containers as full as possible. Whether traveling overseas or across town, recycling is simply “greener” when more waste is transported less often. On the commercial and industrial levels, SP Industries prides itself on manufacturing the highest quality compaction systems that maximize the load size of containers in waste transportation.

Ultimately, following through with the three R’s takes personal sacrifice and being conscious of the carbon footprint your lifestyle produces. Another challenge should be for people to re-think or “pre-cycle” by reconsidering what they are purchasing, how it can be disposed of, and whether other products or services are better alternatives.

Do you have any creative ways that you have reused household products? What environmental considerations do you think are most important when you make purchases?