How to Calculate the Real Return on Waste Equipment

Once suitable waste equipment has been identified, the next question is usually financial: will the investment genuinely reduce operating costs?

Purchase price is important, but it does not answer that question on its own. The return from waste equipment comes from changing what happens after the machine is installed. That may mean fewer skip exchanges, lower collection charges, improved container payloads or less labour spent breaking down bulky material.

The most useful comparison is therefore not simply between equipment quotations. It is between the annual cost of the current process and the projected annual cost of the new process. This is where an equipment supplier with local engineering and design capability can be leveraged to consult through the benefits of their solution beyond the spec sheet and into your operation.

Bergmann Roll Packers and WastePac vertical balers provide two practical examples. Both compact waste, but they create savings in different ways. Understanding those differences is essential when building an accurate return-on-investment calculation.

Begin With Your Current Annual Cost

Before calculating potential savings, establish what the existing waste-handling process costs each year.

Start with the most measurable expenses:

• Number of bins or containers onsite
• Collections per week or month
• Cost per collection
• Transport and fuel surcharges
• Bin rental charges
• Labour spent breaking down and moving waste
• Additional collections during peak periods
• Contamination or excess-weight charges
• Landfill levies applicable on top of the collection costs

Annual collection costs can be calculated using:

Number of collections × Cost per collection = Annual collection cost

For example, a site with three bins collected weekly at $450 per collection is spending approximately:

3 bins × 52 collections × $450 = $70,200 per year

This establishes the baseline against which an equipment investment can be assessed and is the simplest calculation most likely applicable to Vertical Baler ROI calculations. Depending on bin size, cardboard collections can generally range from $50 per week to well over $100 per week.

Roll Packers: Calculating the Value of Better Payloads

A Bergmann Roll Packer compacts bulky materials directly inside an open-top container. Applications commonly include timber pallets, wooden crates, cardboard cores, offcuts, cable drums and bulky industrial waste.

The financial return comes primarily from improving container utilisation, but there are a number of softer wins in staff utilisation and safety that can also be factored into the evaluation for this solution.

A 30 m³ skip filled with loose or partially broken-down material may contain only 2 to 2.5 tonnes when it is collected. The container is physically full, but much of its available transport capacity remains unused.

According to the Waste Initiatives Roll Packer Buying Guide, introducing a Roll Packer can increase the payload to approximately 6 to 8 tonnes per 30 m³ skip, depending on the material.

That represents around three times as much material in each container. Collection frequency can consequently be reduced by as much as 70% in suitable applications.

This matters because every avoided collection removes a direct operating expense. The guide estimates that an unnecessary skip pickup may cost between $400 and more than $1,000, depending on location, provider and contract conditions.

Some of the softer wins with a Roll Packer is savings in labour costs where staff are no longer required to break down bulky waste. They simply add the waste into the top of the skip bin, turn on the Roll Packer and walk away. This time saving can be re-allocated into more productive tasks resulting in indirect savings in labour costs.

Customers have also reported improvements in truck movements, cleaner work sites and happier staff. This indirectly results in a positive outcome on OH&S on site and staff morale.

When these benefits can be quantified and added into a business case for investment, the ROI calculation starts making allot more sense than simply evaluating the collection cost saving.

This consultative approach is what Waste Initiatives’ solutions specialists are known for, helping customers identify genuine cost-saving opportunities and select equipment that delivers the strongest long-term return.

For more information on how a Roll Packer is being used to realise savings for a manufacturing business who generates allot of wood waste and cardboard cores, see the following case studies:

Cleanaway Reduces Waste Collections by 63%

Unlocking Cardboard Core Recycling

Vertical Balers: Focus on Collection Savings

The financial case for a WastePac vertical baler should be approached differently.

For most businesses generating cardboard, there is little or no commercial value in the finished bales themselves. Commodity prices fluctuate, and smaller cardboard generators should not assume that selling bales will create meaningful revenue.

Cardboard in Australia has little value as a commodity a waste processor would try to extract value from, the best outcome is turning a cardboard bale into a free collection by a recycler instead of paying to have it collected. The more dependable return usually comes from reducing collection costs.

Loose cardboard occupies a significant amount of bin space because boxes trap air and do not settle efficiently. A bin can therefore fill quickly even though it contains relatively little material by weight.

A vertical baler compresses this loose cardboard into dense, stackable bales. Depending on the collection arrangement, the business may then:

• Qualify for free collection of completed bales
• Reduce or remove paid cardboard-bin services
• Fit more cardboard into each collection
• Reduce the number of bins required onsite
• Avoid additional pickups during busy periods
• Remove cardboard from higher-cost general waste bins

The financial benefit is not the theoretical resale price of cardboard. It is the difference between the current collection cost and the cost of removing the same material after it has been baled.

Use our Vertical Baler Buying Guide to better understand the operational and collection cost savings available, and identify the baler that can deliver the greatest long-term value for your business.

The next step is to determine what specifically will change. A reliable ROI assessment should only include savings that can be reasonably demonstrated. Our Vertical Baler ROI Calculator is designed to help you assess the viability of investing in a vertical baler to reduce your waste collection cost.

Use Conservative Assumptions

An ROI model is only as reliable as the figures entered into it.

Collection savings should be supported by current invoices or written pricing from the waste contractor. Labour savings should reflect time that will genuinely be recovered. Compaction results should be based on the actual waste stream rather than the highest possible ratio.

It is also sensible to test more than one scenario:

• Conservative: Lower compaction and fewer recognised labour savings
• Expected: The most likely operating result
• Best case: Higher collection and handling savings

If the investment remains financially sound under the conservative scenario, the business case is considerably stronger.

Build the Business Case Around Real Savings

Bergmann Roll Packers and WastePac vertical balers both reduce waste volume, but their returns should not be calculated in exactly the same way.

A Roll Packer creates value by increasing open-top container payloads, consolidating bins and reducing skip exchanges. A vertical baler creates value by replacing inefficient loose-cardboard collections with denser and potentially free or less frequent bale collections.

In both cases, the most credible business case begins with existing invoices, collection frequency and real onsite handling requirements.

Purchase price tells you what the equipment costs today. A properly constructed ROI calculation shows what the equipment could save over the years ahead.

Waste Initiatives can assess your current waste arrangements, model the potential collection and labour savings, and recommend equipment based on the financial and operational return it can realistically deliver.

Reach out to our waste specialists today to assess your current waste costs and identify the right equipment to deliver measurable long-term savings.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you calculate the ROI of waste equipment?

Start by comparing your current annual waste-handling costs with the projected costs after installation. Include collection charges, transport, labour, servicing, energy and consumables. Divide the total project cost by the expected annual net savings to estimate the payback period.

What is the total cost of ownership for waste equipment?

Total cost of ownership includes the purchase price, installation, energy, labour, servicing, parts, consumables and ongoing waste collections across the equipment’s working life. It provides a more accurate comparison than purchase price alone.

How does a Roll Packer reduce waste costs?

A Roll Packer compacts bulky material directly inside an open-top container, increasing the payload and reducing the number of collections required. Savings may also come from less manual breakdown of pallets, crates and other bulky waste.

How quickly can a Bergmann Roll Packer pay for itself?

Payback depends on existing collection costs, waste volumes, container payloads and labour requirements. Waste Initiatives’ worked examples indicate potential payback periods from approximately 1.1 to 3.1 years, although every application should be assessed individually.

How does a vertical baler reduce collection costs?

A vertical baler compresses loose cardboard or plastic into dense, manageable bales. This can reduce bin requirements and collection frequency, allow more material to leave in each collection, or qualify the business for free bale collection.

Can businesses make money from baled cardboard?

Most businesses should not base their investment on selling cardboard. Smaller generators may receive little or no commercial return for the material. The more reliable benefit generally comes from avoiding paid loose-cardboard collections or fitting more cardboard into each collection.

What information is needed for an accurate waste equipment ROI calculation?

You will need current waste invoices, collection frequency, cost per collection, bin quantities, waste volumes and labour spent handling the material. Any proposed bale collection or skip arrangements should also be confirmed with the relevant waste contractor.

Can Waste Initiatives help prepare an ROI assessment?

Yes. Waste Initiatives’ solutions specialists can assess your current waste costs, handling processes and collection arrangements to identify realistic savings and recommend equipment suited to your operation.