The right container depends on your needs.
If your company needs a container to collect excess material left over during the manufacturing process, Hambicki’s can help you better understand your options.
A simple scrap container usually used by scrap recycling companies are the simplest and least expensive containers. Square in shape, most are made of durable 12 or 10 gauge steel and have no lids. Most scrap recycling containers are stackable. The better scrap containers have 4-way pockets so forklifts can approach and pick them up from any side, but some only have 2-way fork pockets. Loading and unloading is mostly done with machines or for small volume applications, they are scrap material is moved by hand. High volume recycling companies usually have forklifts with articulating forks so scrap containers can be turned upside down, dumping scrap material. Lockable steel lids are popular for recycling companies that have problems with theft, but the majority of scrap containers with no lockable lids are used inside of large recycling facilities behind locked fences. You can also put casters on scrap containers so people can push them around without a forklift. The decision to put casters on scrap containers is just a matter of preference or convenience.
A self-dumping tilt hopper is good if you don’t have a forklift with articulating forks or a truck that has an automated dumping system and you need a simple way to dump or transfer material from one container to another. Self-dumping tilt hoppers are commonly made of steel or plastic. A tilt hopper is used to load, transport and dump material into from one location to another. The tilt hopper has a unique design that uses gravity for dumping the hopper’s contents. Since gravity does all of the work, dumping is as simple as pulling a lever on the back of the tilt hopper. When used correctly, a user loads material when the tilt hopper is an upright position and balancing on a fulcrum with a hinge. A locking lever holds the tilt hopper in the upright position. When the lever is pulled on the tilt hopper, gravity pulls the front dumping portion of the hopper forward, dumping the tilt hopper’s contents. After the container’s content is dumped, the front of the tilt hopper can be pushed back upright into the locked position, ready for another load.
Having a tilt hopper to quickly empty scrap material will save a lot of time over a dumping a simple scrap container by hand. The only downside is tilt hoppers cost a little more than scrap containers, but for busy recycling operations, it is money well spent.
A front load container is a fancy way of saying “garbage dumpster.” These are the big steel trash containers you see behind most commercial buildings or apartments. Front load dumpsters differ from the scrap container and the tilt hoppers in that they are used by your everyday people for emptying their garbage cans. Most front load dumpsters are designed lighter than scrap containers because they are used to contain lighter solid waste and are less frequently dumped. A front load dumpster is probably not the right choice for industrial purposes such as scrap metal recycling or situations in which it will be exposed to frequent dumping.
Whatever your needs are, there is probably a container designed for you. Hambicki’s is ready to provide you with a containment solution to fit you needs.