Foam packaging: Compacting improves recyclability

Shipping case distributor reduces disposal costs of PE foam scrap with a compacting machine that 'scrunches' foam into logs 1/15th of its original size.

Lauren R. Hartman, Senior Editor -- Packaging Digest, 3/1/2010 12:00:00 AM

A log of foam scrap, exits the compacting machine and is palletized in rows.Cases Plus Inc., a Lincoln, CA, wholesale distributor of industrial shipping cases that it customizes for applications in electronics, aerospace and the military, faced a dilemma. The company wanted to recycle the PE foam scrap it generates from the foam cushioning inserts it makes to line the inside of the cases. But recycling the foam scrap had to be done cost-effectively.

All of its carrying cases and shipping rack-mounted containers are designed to protect delicate and fragile equipment, including plasma screens, military systems, audio/video/broadcast equipment, camcorders, laptops, computer hardware and more. Cases Plus relies on two high-end pieces of equipment to create precision inserts from PE foam plank: A water-jet unit; and a die-less knife system.

A carrying case lined with foam cushioning.

According to CEO Jean-Claude Avenel, finding a way to recycle the foam scrap wasn't as easy as it sounds. “The significant amount of scrap we were generating from our fabrication process made it necessary to haul a 16-cubic-yard trailer to a landfill twice a day,” he says. “Not only did that use up approximately four man hours a day, there were fuel and landfill charges.” The company turned to its PE foam supplier, Pregis Corp.

With most foam planks sized at about 48x8 in., fabricators use a variety of methods to cut appropriately sized pieces and shapes to protect and cushion their products. What ends up being discarded are leftover outer edges and small bits and pieces. “When you multiply that scrap by 200 or 300 planks per day, it becomes sizeable,” Smith says.

Cases Plus found that foam scrap can really pile up very quickly if it’s not recycled.To help fabricators manage the leftover pieces environmentally, Pregis has introduced the Densinator™ compactor, a unit which includes a foam shredder, that shreds and condenses foam scrap fed into its hopper, using a light heating process. While it sounds like it could be the name of an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, the Densinator compresses the foam leftovers to 1/15th of their original size. The end result is an HDPE log that measures 6x6x48 in. The foam log has a thin, rigid outer shell that helps maintain the log's compact brick shape.

“The outer surface of the brick or log is heated, creating the thin, rigid shell that maintains the brick shape,” Avenel explains. Cases Plus loads the logs on pallets (roughly 2,000 lb/pallet) and ships the loads back to Pregis each month so that the logs can be used as recycled content for theThe company uses an automated knife system, to cut pieces of foam that are used to protect sensitive equipment inside the cases they produce. production of future foam plank. The shell keeps dust and debris to a minimum.

Keeps more foam scrap out of landfills

A single operator loads shipping case liner scrap into the compactor, which at Cases Plus, only runs an hour each day compared with four previously to haul scrap to a landfi ll.More logs per load

Space-saving and easy to operate, the compactor measures 104 in. long, 62 in. wide and 102 in. high. It handles both clean and dirty PE foam and the loads need no strapping. The logs can be fed directly into most plastic-reclaiming systems, according to Pregis.

The machine is easy to load by a single operator. Smith says the logs can be reclaimed and put back into foam production or be sent to fabricators that manufacture products such as carpeting, composite wood and much more.

The logs can be neatly palletized and trucked to a recycler.