VEGLO MILJØSERVICE AS collects and processes hazardous waste from companies over a wide geographic area in central Norway, including cans and buckets of paint leftovers, around 300 tons p.a. which have to be emptied and compacted.
For this purpose, Veglo has been using a RUNI SK370 for the last 5 years. Packaging sizes of up to 10 liters in plastic and metal are loaded direct into the compactor, where they are ground and compacted.
“The RUNI Screw Compactor presses the paint leftover out of the packaging before collecting it in 1 cubic meter containers, which are then sent for incineration to produce energy. The actual packaging is compacted into good, dry waste, which is currently driven to a landfill. We hope that in time it will be approved for recycling,” says Director Knut Atle Aarbu of Veglo.
The RUNI SK370 has meant major savings for Veglo, as all paint packaging used to be delivered unprocessed for incineration, which is much more expensive per kilo than for dumping.
“We had major costs for negative weight but now we only have to pay for delivering the paint to the incinerator whilst saving on transport, because the packaging is less bulky. So we save in two areas: less transport and a lower cost per kilo,” says Aarbu.
He finds the RUNI SK370 practical, sturdy and easy to operate. Daily maintenance consists of wiping it down with a scraper, and there have never been problems with dried-on paint or blockages. The compactor simply forces any leftover paint out during the process.
“Operation is so simple that there are no problems with incorrect operation. There are no rocket scientists employed to stuff the machine with half-full cans and buckets of paint!” laughs Aarbu.