Balers

Depending on the amount of paper and cardboard that your institution produces, it may be appropriate to utilise a baler which compresses the material and ties it into bales. These can be easier to uplift by contractors, but the weight of the bales can pose problems for manual handling by staff. Bales need to be stored under cover as the recycling contractors will reject wet cardboard.

Item	Comments/notes	Estimated weights (kg) of most commonly used size when full of specified materials
Plastic bag or sack	Various sizes and thickness do you need a very thick gauge for all types of waste? Consider manual handling regulations	Standard size refuse sack holds 0.08m3 If full, these bags could theoretically hold 48kg or 60kg of paper/card and food respectively Due to the manual handling regulations, the weights should probably be kept below 16kg per bag
Dustbin	Steel and plastic Consider manual handling regulations	Standard size 90 L (0.09 m³) Paper/card 54kg Food 67.5kg Due to the manual handling regulations, the weights should probably be kept below 16kg per bin
Paladin bin	Steel Mostly becoming replaced by large wheelie bins, eurobins and other containers	Most common 1.25yd³ and 2 yd³ (0.995 and 1.5 m3) Paper/card 900kg Food 1125kg

Item	Comments/notes	Estimated weights (kg) of most commonly used size when full of specified materials
Wheelie bin	2 wheeled, common for household and small trade waste Can also be used for storage of glass bottles and cans for recycling	240 and 360L most common 240L Paper/card 144kg Food 180kg
Euro bin	4 wheeled common for trade waste Can be used for storage of glass bottles for recycling	1100L (1.1 m³) Paper/card 600kg Food 825kg
Open and closed skips	Open Various sizes from mini (2 yd³ 1.2m) to 20yd³ (15.3 m³) Closed skip 8yd³ and 12 yd³ most common (6.2 m3 and 9.2 m3)	Most common size is 8yd³ (6.2 m³) Paper/card 3720kg Food 4650kg Wood 4340kg (Rubble and concrete) 7440kg
Front end loader (FEL) container	Becoming more common with waste management companies Range 2-12yd³ (1.5-9.2 m³)	Most common 10yd³ 7.7 m³ Paper/card 4620kg Food 5775kg
Rear end loaders (REL) container	Also common with waste management companies Range 6-20yd³ (4.6-15.3 m³)	Most common 14yd³ 10.7 m3 Paper/card 6420kg Food 8025kg Wood 7490kg Rubble 12840kg
Ro-ro containers (roll on roll off)	Large volume Range from 20-45yd³ 15.3-34.6 m³ for high sided open containers (can also occasionally get low sided containers)	Most common 35yd³ (26.9 m³) Paper/card 16140kg Food 20175kg
Compactors
Portable compactor unit	Some units suitable for uplift by skip vehicle Efficiency of compaction reduces with wear and tear on the compactor	Most common size 10 m³ Depends on compaction ratio
Static compaction unit and container	Various different manufacturers Most now use closed roll-on-off containers as above Preferable to have detachable container so that you do not have to transport the compactor to the landfill	Most common 35yd³ (26.9 m³) Depends on compaction ratio

Item	Comments/notes	Estimated weights (kg) of most commonly used size when full of specified materials
Desk top box for waste paper	Can purchase specific open box or Use the lid of a cardboard box which contained reams of A4 paper	Vol 0.01 m³ Paper 6kg
Hexagonal box for waste paper	Large volume Plastic sack in box Consider manual handling regulations	Vol 0.12 m³ Paper 72 kg Due to the manual handling regulations, the weights should probably be kept below 16kg per bag
Can containers Cardboard	Plastic container More durable than cardboard – less likely to be affected by liquid	Vol 0.08 m³ Normally holds up to 150 soft drink cans per bag (up to 4 times more if cans are crushed) Weight of cans depends on proportion crushed and also proportion of steel to aluminium Mixed cans (50% steel and 50% aluminium) 2.5-3kg

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