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Waste compaction is the process of compacting waste, reducing it in size. Garbage compactors and waste collection vehicles compress waste so that more of it can be stored in the same space. Waste is compacted again, more thoroughly, at the landfill to conserve valuable airspace and to extend the landfill's life span.
Pre-landfill waste compaction is often beneficial, both for people disposing of waste and the company collecting it. This is because waste collection companies frequently charge by volume or require use of standard-volume containers, and compaction allows more waste to fit in the same space. Trash compactors are available for both residential and commercial use. Compacting garbage after it is collected allows more waste to fit inside the collection vehicle, meaning fewer trips to a dump or transfer station are required. The collection company also incurs lower landfill fees, if the landfill charges by volume.
A landfill compaction vehicle has two main functions: to spread the waste evenly in layers over the landfill, and to compact waste to reduce its volume and help stabilize the landfill. Proper waste compacting includes the process of using a steel wheeled/drum landfill compactor to shred, tear and press together various items in the waste stream so they consume a minimal volume of landfill airspace. The higher the compaction rate, the more trash the landfill can receive and store. This will also reduce landslides, cave-ins and minimize the risk of explosions of landfill gas (see landfill gas migration).
Main compaction is produced by the landfill compactors steel tooth on the wheel drums. Special teeth can penetrate the waste and deliver a focused compression point, providing compaction and increased density. Ground pressure of the tooth can exceed over 4,000 pounds per square inch (28,000 kPa) (PSI). The design of the machine and more importantly the wheels and the teeth is very critical in compaction. Power transmission from engine to the wheel drums is another key factor in compactors, depending on the application and size of the landfill the correct machine size and configuration should be selected.
Loose, non-compacted trash occupies up to 20 times more dumpster space than compacted waste. Waste haulage costs are reduced by fewer or smaller dumpsters, and dumpster pickup frequency can be reduced by 50 percent. A side effect of waste compaction is that important items, like evidence in a crime, may be difficult to recover from the garbage. Due to reduced oxygenation, biodegradation of organic waste is also slowed.
Dumpster diving is salvaging from large commercial, residential, industrial and construction containers for unused items discarded by their owners but deemed useful to the picker. It is not confined to dumpsters and skips specifically and may cover standard household waste containers, curb sides, landfills or small dumps.
A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was simply left in piles or thrown into pits.
A garbage truck is a truck specially designed to collect municipal solid waste and transport it to a solid waste treatment facility, such as a landfill, recycling center or transfer station. In Australia they are commonly called rubbish trucks, or garbage trucks, while in the U.K. dustbin lorry, rubbish lorry or bin lorry is commonly used. Other common names for this type of truck include trash truck in the United States, and refuse truck, dustcart, junk truck, bin wagon or bin van elsewhere. Technical names include waste collection vehicle and refuse collection vehicle (RCV). These trucks are a common sight in most urban areas.
A compactor is a machine or mechanism used to reduce the size of material such as waste material or bio mass through compaction. A trash compactor is often used by business and public places like hospitals to reduce the volume of trash they produce. A baler-wrapper compactor is often used for making compact and wrapped bales in order to improve logistics.
The Revopak is a type of waste collection vehicle manufactured by the British company Shelvoke and Drewry.
Garbology is the study of modern refuse and trash as well as the use of trash cans, compactors and various types of trash can liners. It is a major source of information on the nature and changing patterns in modern refuse, and thereby, human society. Industries wishing to demonstrate that discards originating with their products are important in the trash stream are avid followers of this research, as are municipalities wishing to learn whether some parts of the trash they collect has any salable value.
Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, as in a garbage disposal; the two are sometimes collected separately. In the European Union, the semantic definition is 'mixed municipal waste,' given waste code 20 03 01 in the European Waste Catalog. Although the waste may originate from a number of sources that has nothing to do with a municipality, the traditional role of municipalities in collecting and managing these kinds of waste have produced the particular etymology 'municipal.'
A road roller is a compactor-type engineering vehicle used to compact soil, gravel, concrete, or asphalt in the construction of roads and foundations. Similar rollers are used also at landfills or in agriculture.
Waste collection is a part of the process of waste management. It is the transfer of solid waste from the point of use and disposal to the point of treatment or landfill. Waste collection also includes the curbside collection of recyclable materials that technically are not waste, as part of a municipal landfill diversion program.
A waste container, also known as a dustbin, rubbish bin, trash can, and garbage can, among other names, is a type of container intended to store waste that is usually made out of metal or plastic. The words "rubbish", "basket" and "bin" are more common in British English usage; "trash" and "can" are more common in American English usage. "Garbage" may refer to food waste specifically or to municipal solid waste in general.
Kerbside collection or curbside collection is a service provided to households, typically in urban and suburban areas, of collecting and disposing of household waste and recyclables. It is usually accomplished by personnel using specially built vehicles to pick up household waste in containers that are acceptable to, or prescribed by, the municipality and are placed on the kerb.
A trencher is a piece of construction equipment used to dig trenches, especially for laying pipes or electrical cables, for installing drainage, or in preparation for trench warfare. Trenchers may range in size from walk-behind models, to attachments for a skid loader or tractor, to very heavy tracked heavy equipment.
Green waste, also known as "biological waste", is any organic waste that can be composted. It is most usually composed of refuse from gardens such as grass clippings or leaves, and domestic or industrial kitchen wastes. Green waste does not include things such as dried leaves, pine straw, or hay. Such materials are rich in carbon and considered "brown wastes," while green wastes contain high concentrations of nitrogen. Green waste can be used to increase the efficiency of many composting operations and can be added to soil to sustain local nutrient cycling.
A dumpster is a movable waste container designed to be brought and taken away by a special collection vehicle, or to a bin that a specially designed garbage truck lifts, empties into its hopper, and lowers, on the spot. The word is a generic trademark of Dumpster, an American brand name for a specific design. Generic usage of skip, or wheelie bin may be used in other English speaking countries.
Waste management in Japan today emphasizes not just the efficient and sanitary collection of waste, but also reduction in waste produced and recycling of waste when possible. This has been influenced by its history, particularly periods of significant economic expansion, as well as its geography as a mountainous country with limited space for landfills. Important forms of waste disposal include incineration, recycling and, to a smaller extent, landfills and land reclamation. Although Japan has made progress since the 1990s in reducing waste produced and encouraging recycling, there is still further progress to be made in reducing reliance on incinerators and the garbage sent to landfills. Challenges also exist in the processing of electronic waste and debris left after natural disasters.
In North America, a roll-off is usually an open-top dumpster characterized by a rectangular footprint, utilizing wheels to facilitate rolling the dumpster in place. The container is designed to be transported by special roll-off trucks. There are two types of delivery trucks for the bins based on bin size, and they are: Hook lift bins and Roll-off bins. Roll-offs are commonly used to contain loads of construction and demolition waste or other waste types. While most roll-off containers have a swinging door on the end for easier disposal of waste, some roll-off containers are not open-top and are used with commercial or industrial trash compactors.
Trash Panic is a puzzle video game for the PlayStation 3 developed by the Japan Studio of Sony Interactive Entertainment and directed by Taro Matsuda. It was released in Japan on March 19, 2009 on the PlayStation Network download service, and has been compared to EA's Tetris on the PS3 and its direct successor Puyo Puyo Tetris in terms of gameplay, though the object of the game is to compact items of garbage, not remove rows of blocks.
Municipal solid waste (MSW) – more commonly known as trash or garbage – consists of everyday items people use and then throw away, such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, food scraps and papers. In 2018, Americans generated about 265.3 million tonnes of waste. In the United States, landfills are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the states' environmental agencies. Municipal solid waste landfills (MSWLF) are required to be designed to protect the environment from contaminants that may be present in the solid waste stream.
The San Francisco Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance is a local municipal ordinance requiring all persons located in San Francisco to separate their recyclables, compostables and landfilled trash and to participate in recycling and composting programs. Passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2009, it became the first local municipal ordinance in the United States to universally require source separation of all organic material, including food residuals.
Waste management in South Korea involves waste generation reduction and ensuring maximum recycling of the waste. This includes the appropriate treatment, transport, and disposal of the collected waste. South Korea's Waste Management Law was established in 1986, replacing the Environmental Protection Law (1963) and the Filth and Cleaning Law (1973). This new law aimed to reduce general waste under the waste hierarchy in South Korea. This Waste Management Law imposed a volume-based waste fee system, effective for waste produced by both household and industrial activities.
