Turning a wood splitter into a can baler

[rlbob]

Like a lot of people I had been tossing cans in the trash for years. My wife said she would not mind recycling the cans but the leaky trash bags full of yellow jackets was not going to cut it. So I got to thinking about using my 5 ton splitter to do the job. Its not a very big splitter but it is electric and quiet. After a month or so of testing I figured it out. It crushes 264 cans into a 10 inch bale.
My tree climber and I made ten bales and took them to the recycler. It created quite a sensation at the recycling yard then the manager said he would prefer whole cans. Yea right lets see 10 bales which fit neatly in a car trunk vs 2,640 whole cans which would not fit in a pickup. Anyway they gave us $48 for the 80 lbs of cans. I have a video posted of it and will be posting a how to make tutorial for anyone interested.

 

[JeffHK454]

The recycling places around me wouldn't take that cube for fear of it having something other than aluminum in its center.

 

[zogger]

Like a lot of people I had been tossing cans in the trash for years. My wife said she would not mind recycling the cans but the leaky trash bags full of yellow jackets was not going to cut it. So I got to thinking about using my 5 ton splitter to do the job. Its not a very big splitter but it is electric and quiet. After a month or so of testing I figured it out. It crushes 264 cans into a 10 inch bale.
My tree climber and I made ten bales and took them to the recycler. It created quite a sensation at the recycling yard then the manager said he would prefer whole cans. Yea right lets see 10 bales which fit neatly in a car trunk vs 2,640 whole cans which would not fit in a pickup. Anyway they gave us $48 for the 80 lbs of cans. I have a video posted of it and will be posting a how to make tutorial for anyone interested.

Great build, excellent vid!

 

[066blaster]

Cool.

 

[ChucktheCanuck]

Maybe it could be adapted to a 27 ton hydraulic splitter?

 

[Erik B]

Gotta have a lifter to get the cans up to be crushed

 

[cutforfun]

2640 cans around here is worth $132.00. Put them in a green bag with your bar code on it and drop them off. No counting and the money is put on a credit card.

Nice build .

 

[Sawyer Rob]

2,640 cans here is worth $264.00, I don't guess i'll be crushing any! lol

SR

 

[turnkey4099]

The recycling places around me wouldn't take that cube for fear of it having something other than aluminum in its center.

Yep, most recyclers won't take baled aluminum cans. I dunno about baled steel cans. I worked one summer in a scrap yard.

Harry K

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

It'd take me years to get 264 cans. Might drink a canned beverage a few times a year.

 

[zogger]

Maybe you could use the thing to crush corrugated cardboard and make burning blocks?

 

[snoozeys]

I know the recyclers around here wont accept crushed cans out of fear the cans contain rocks and dirt

 

[Whitespider]

Kind of a cool idea... but it ain't no use to me (actually, I have one I don't use).

We pay a 5¢ deposit on beverage containers... that means I've payed $132 deposit on 2640 cans.
To get your deposit back the machines used for counting them have to be able to read the bar code.
Crushing them and selling them to the scrap yard/recycler for $48 means I lose $84.

Years ago, before the beverage deposit, we had a "Trash Compactor" (it's still out in my shed). You put special heavy duty bags in it and pressed the button once a day, electric over hydraulic crushed/compacted everything, steel cans, aluminum cans, glass, plastic, old shoes, dead bodies, you-name-it... I believe it was rated at either a 4:1 or 5:1 compaction ratio. It wasn't much of a problem to get 10-14 days trash compacted into one cubic foot. Now-a-days, with deposit on beverage containers and most everything coming in burnable plastic, it ain't worth the cost of the bags to use it. I'd say 85%-95% of our trash either hits the burn barrel, the compost pile, or has a deposit on it (we don't do the recycle thing)... what little bit of glass and steel cans we generate barely fills one garbage bag a week (if that), which I haul into work and toss in the dumpster on Friday.
*

 

[Marshy]

$0.05 deposit for cans and now water bottles in NY. You can find placed that offer $0.06 - 0.10 per can for returned cans. Crushed cans would not be acctpted at scrap yards in NY... Cool machine though.

 

[rlbob]

Works in Georgia. Sent 10 bales to the recycler weighing 8 pounds each 80 pounds @ .60 lb check for $48. I do agree with you guys we have a long way to go and we may have to undo a bunch of bad laws. Can deposits are forced recycling probably done a long time ago when energy was cheap and cans were worthless. When you are made to do that you are not recycling only trying to get your money back. Seriously I would probably throw them away at 5 cents a can. Not worth the trouble and I am a bit of a renegade and would do it for spite. But the simple fact is if you could put enough metal in your vehicle without the mess and bother of leaking trash bags full of ants, roaches and bees it might work. I guess it will be up to the deposit free states to show everyone how it's done
bob

 

[c5rulz]

Spidey,

I agree, In Iowa you don't see beer cans on the side of the road with the recycling fee.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Spikey,

I agree, In Iowa you don't see beer cans on the side of the road with the recycling fee.

Same where I live, before the deposit the ditches were covered with bottles ect., not any more...

SR

 

[kyle1!]

You see people on 4 lane highways park their vehicle, get out the bicycle and can hunt for the nickel. Getting paid once a month can be hard sometimes so towards the end of the month I'll redeem cans for gas money. I wish all cans and all plastic bottles had a deposit on them the country would be a cleaner place.

 

[snoozeys]

I see a few bin divers looking for cans while I'm out shopping ... there are no can recycling programs state wide outside of having a recycling bin

 

[Joesell]

Went to the scraper today. I asked if they would accept bailed cans. They said no problem. I go a lot though, so I don't know if that goes for everyone.

Don't think I'm going to start bailing any time soon, but it's a cool idea.