A baling machine including a gathering ram and a hopper with a charging chamber is disclosed. The hopper can include a pair of flat doors and an actuator that can move the flat doors to apply compression force to material placed in the hopper. The compression force applied by the flat doors can improve efficiency of the baling machine by increasing the amount of the material compacted by each stroke of the gathering ram.

A recycling method includes the steps of compacting recyclable material into a fixed bale, and weighing the recyclable material, using load cells, independently of the compacting forces. Compacting equipment for performing the method includes balers with load cells and anchors, with the load cells weighing the baler and the recyclable material in the baler, and with the anchors anchoring the baler in place without interfering with the weighing.

A sensor assembly and method is described for determining the position of a reciprocating plunger of a baler. A first sensor may detect at least one location of a crank arm driving the plunger as the crank arm rotates. A second sensor may detect a rotation of a crank gear that drives the rotation of the crank arm. A controller may determine a position of the reciprocating plunger relative to a baling chamber based upon, at least in part, the detected crank arm location and the detected rotation of the crank gear.

High-density bales for erosion control or for forming a flood barrier are made by the compaction of tree leave material. The bales are made substantially from tree leave material that retains at least a portion of the vein structure. The vein structure improves the structurally integrity of the bale. A baler may be used to form the bale and it may compact the leave material up to an 8:1 compaction ratio, forming bales with a density of 0.3 to 0.8g/cc or more. The bales may have a retainer wire or mesh configured around a portion of the bale to retain the bale shape. The bales may contain seeds for growing plants directly from the bales as the leave material degrades to provide the nutrients for plant growth. This plant growth from the bale provides an aesthetically appealing bale that blends into the natural environment.

A baling press having a rope tying system with a loop supply member for forming a loop of the second rope material across the bale pressing channel to the first side of the bale pressing channel and a loop of the first rope material at the first side. The loop supply member is suspended on the second side of said bale pressing channel and movable along a straight path between an extended position projecting across the bale pressing channel and a retracted position.

The loop supply member has a turn guide for forming and guiding the loops in the first and second rope materials and a spreader for, when the loop supply member is in the extended position, holding the rope materials guided so that portions in the knotting area are spaced from a free end portion of the loop supply member.

A square baler including a baling chamber having a floor formed of spaced profiles, side walls and a top wall, and a density belt surrounding the baling chamber. The density belt is formed of a U-shaped frame having three beams welded to one another to define a floor beam for supporting the floor of the baling chamber and two upright beams for supporting the side walls of the baling chamber and a tensioning rod releasably secured to the upper ends of the two upright beams to prevent the upright beams from splaying apart.

A retainer assembly for a waste container opening defining a longitudinal axis passing through a center of the opening includes a framework defining a first framework opening, and a pivotable finger assembly including a retainer portion, the retainer portion pivotably adjacent the first framework opening. The finger assembly includes a biasing element for urging the retainer portion toward the longitudinal axis. The retainer portion is movable against the biasing element away from the longitudinal axis to enable placement of waste materials into the waste container, and movable toward the longitudinal axis after waste materials have been placed into the waste container to impede movement of waste materials through the first framework opening out of the waste container.

A compactor system for compacting waste having liquid components. The compactor system includes a storage container having a storage chamber and a dump door. A charge container includes a compacting chamber and a loading opening. An outlet fitting is mounted to the charge container. The outlet fitting is in fluid communication with the compacting chamber. A pump is in fluid communication with the outlet fitting. A storage tank is in fluid communication with the pump. The storage tank, storage container and charge container are positioned on a support surface. The pump pumps fluid from the compacting chamber into the storage tank.

A clothing compression press that is of a sufficient height so as to compact clothing for baling in a single pass of a piston within the chamber. The press includes an inner cavity defined by a base with a front wall, a back wall and first and second sidewalls extending upwardly therefrom. A plate extends within the inner cavity which is driven by a hydraulic cylinder from a first position spaced apart from the base to a second position proximate the base, to in turn, compress clothing between the plate and the base.

A compactor includes a frame supporting a first roller assembly and a second roller assembly. At least one of the first roller assembly and the second roller assembly is moveable relative to the frame in a motion that includes an upward vertical component and a downward vertical component. An actuator is coupled to at least one of the first and second roller assemblies and is operable to repeatedly move at least one of the roller assemblies relative to the frame in both the upward vertical component and the downward vertical component to oscillate the roller assemblies relative to each other.