Trash compactors

[tolivac]

Trash truck compaction mechanisms fascinate me as well-I am awed by their shear unmerciful POWER-I mean they can even destroy themselves if the wrong items are put in their hoppers or charge boxes.I have heard of instances of items impailing the roofs of rear loaders from the power of the tailgate compactor unit.And items being pushed thru the bottoms of their hoppers.You can get an idea of the power of these from the "Videos" on the website "Classic Refuse Trucks"they show videos of various objects being crushed in many kinds of trash trucks.Including some white goods-the one of the Dennis Pheonix trash truck crushing a FL Hotpoint washer was something--poor washer!They crushed it many times--only thing left was a bent motor!Like disposers-trash trucks are kinda interesting-but its easier and cheaper to collect disposers.Did find a compactor at a yard sale once-didn't buy it since I couldn't fit it in the car I had at that time.Still on the lookout.May be fun to have like the disposers.To aviod odors in the compactors-do not throw food in them-throw that into the disposer.Rinse out containers before putting them into the compactor.On another YouTube video they show someone trying to crush a home type compactor with a D4 type cat tractor-the compactor was actually strong enough to support the tractors weight-about 4 tons!

Classic Refuse Trucks VIDEO

 

[jakeseacrest]

I love my compactor. It's a Kenmore that I bought on sale in 2003 for $349.99. I have never had a problem with smells as all food goes in the disposer and I rinse out cans, food packages, etc. I live alone and a bag lasts me about 2 weeks.

 

[animasinsulinpu]

Beer bottles

When I lived in my townhouse in Glendale Az. I bought the 18 inch KA compactor. It was a drag cuz a weeks worth of beer bottles weighs like 80 lbs. My 2 trash compactors smell like beer. YUMMY!!!!!......Bill in Az....

 

[hydralique]

Here in LA we have three bins supplied the the city: a black one for any kind of waste, blue one for recycling paper, glass, cans, etc. and a green one for lawn and garden clippings. Additional bins can be supplied but cost extra, so a compactor would make sense for people with large families who make a lot of trash.

 

[rinso]

Tolivac---Just Kidding. I didn't think that they were really the same company, but both deal in a lot of trash, good and bad. Family Guy comes to mind. I love its irreverence!

 

[gansky1]

We've had a residential, curb-side pick up of recyclables for many years here. It's recently gotten more friendly, now we can recycle magazines, all paper, etc. We have a (green) bin that goes out on the regular garbage day. The city stopped recycling glass of any kind a few years ago, there was no market for it. We have our bin out every week. Sorting restrictions are pretty lenient and the bins are dumped into one truck, curb-side sorting is gone. I hear tales of giant machines with robotic arms that sort and separate the recycled items automatically. I recently made a much more concerted effort to recycle 100% of our cardboard and have been astounded at the volume we used to throw away without a second thought. It only takes a small amount of effort to make a difference.

I have a KitchenAid compactor that I found new at a thrift store for $30. It's a perfect match to the 18 series dishwasher and all I have ever used it for is aluminum cans. I'm with Peter, with a weekly pick-up, I don't need to have a filthy, smelly compactor - nor do I have the time or energy to continually maintain the cleanliness of an appliance that generally must be disassembled to keep clean.

 

[tolivac]

News networks-I find it difficult to find ANY good news source in the US-all of them are TRASH!!Use BBC instead-very professional.The US news media could be considered by some to be the WORST in the world-why?they are not for truth in the news-but sensationalism and ratings.Now-back to compactors.I guess home type compactors are not very popular in my area.I use the big Marathon one at the "dump" -transfer-recycling station I take my trash tne dumpster for cans,bottles,magazines.Another for newspapers-anoither for cardboard-and the Marathon compactor for general trash.Patrons like to see their trash mashed into the container.LOVE the "POP" trash bags make!!also at a workplace in Wash DC I used to work at-they had a GIANT Marathon compactor-served two buildings.Loved to "feed" it!!you could watch the meter on it-had a picture of a goats face-and "normal" compaction-"Heavy"Mid scale-then"Haul" full scale.Could only get it to say "normal".Makes chairs into "milking stools".had a 15HP hydraulic unit.Enjoyed pushing the "Push To Crush" button on that beast.also that place had a really large and old paper bailer.Never saw it work-had a cable hoist mechanism in it.No Hydraulics.would have been neat to see how it worked-Figure that Marathon compactor replaced it.The old unit was built into the building-the building is a Gov't one built in 1939.Was kinda a neat place.

 

[retro-man]

We had a trash compactor in this house when we moved in. Worked ok for awhile then had to replace the worm gear that ran up the shaft of the scissor movement. Then we started recycling in our city. Got tired of compactor and replaced it with the butcher block from my mothers kitchen. Perfect fit under the counter. Started with 2 bins one for paper and cardboard and one for glass and metal. Now you can throw any into one bin or both. This spring we are supposed to replace those with a normal size dumpster like the one for household trash. All recycling in one and regular trash in the other. This will be great cause usually we can fill both bins quite fast. After that it goes into the regular trash bin.
Jon

 

[everythingold]

Americans don't recycle because we are rich. Only rich people throw away things of value. But, the way things are going, that might change. Personally, I love wasteful Americans, I am a proud dumpster diver/trash pirate. I have made scores worths hundreds of dollars off trash. Matt